NDA govt allotted 39 coal blocks illegally, says Congress

Minister of state (MoS) in the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) V Narayansami said on Thursday that as many as 39 coal blocks were illegally allotted without any proper procedure and transparency during the regime of the BJP-led NDA.

“The BJP did not allow a debate in Parliament on the controversy over coal block allotment because the party knew that its misdeeds during the NDA regime will be exposed,” the Union minister said while addressing a press conference here.

He said the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), probing the irregularities in the coal block allotments, may also be asked to investigate the allotments made during the NDA regime. “There have been demands in this regard from different quarters and the coal ministry is looking into it,” Narayansami said adding that once the investigation is completed, action will be taken against persons involved in the irregularities.

Stating that the Centre has already taken pro-active steps to expose the coal block scam by ordering a CBI probe into it even before the CAG submitted its report on the matter, he said the chief ministers of coal bearing states like Odisha, West Bengal, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Madhya Pradesh had opposed the coal block auction process when it was initiated by the Centre.

“Chief ministers of non-Congress ruled states, including Odisha’s Naveen Patnaik, had not only recommended coal blocks for companies but had suggested the names of specific corporate houses for allocation of coal blocks,” he maintained.

He also accused the BJP of spreading lies to destabilise the government and the country.
Meanwhile, the BJD, the ruling party in the state, welcomed the CBI probe into the coal block allocations.