JOIN USThe BJP on Tuesday reiterated that Chief Minister Siddaramaiah was directly responsible for favouring and awarding mining leases to eight companies.
Addressing the media here, BJP MLC K S Eshwarappa said that there were 108 mining companies in the ‘A’ and ‘B’ category mines classified by the Central Empowered Committee. That being the case, why did the government clear the files and issue the letter of intent to eight only companies, he asked.
Based on the letter despatched to Prime Minister Narendra Modi by the Bangalore Chamber of Industry and Commerce claiming that eight companies, including Sesa Sterlite Ltd, were favoured unduly, Eshwarappa held Siddaramaiah responsible for issuing the letters.
‘CM should clarify’
“The chief minister needs to clarify whether the money received as kickback was used for personal gain or for the Congress party,” Eshwarappa said.
He said the government was taking shelter under Section 8 of the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Amendment Ordinance of 2015, which states that any mining lease can be approved with previous approval of the Central government for a period of 20 years.
“However, the government has not noticed that Section 8 has been divided into two parts. Section 8 (A) has mentioned specifically that the lease has to be granted only after auction for a period of 50 years. While the Act came into force on January 12, 2015, the government had not taken cognizance of this,” he said.Eshwarappa demanded that the government immediately cancel the mining leases and put them up for auction.