HT Digital,
New Delhi, Feb 24: The Congress party accused the BJP government of a substantial coal scam, alleging favouritism towards the Prime Minister’s acquaintances and resulting in significant revenue loss.
In a press conference, party spokesperson, Pawan Khera, demanded the Modi government to order an ED investigation. Khera claimed that the government altered the coalmine allocation policy in 2015, promising transparency and corruption-free processes.
However, the policy was retracted after causing significant losses and was questioned by two BJP MPs, RK Singh and Rajeev Chandrashekhar. Khera questioned the government’s dismissal of allegations of malpractice, rigging, and cartelisation.
He also questioned the introduction of a new law and amendments to existing mining laws, which he suggests favoured specific companies, particularly Adani. Khera revealed that a new provision permitting state governments to continue the MDO contracts of their newly acquired mines was utilised by a BJP-led state government to reinstate Adani Group companies as MDOs for two mines.
The Congress spokesperson also highlighted the CAG’s observations of potential collusion among bidders. Khera hinted at thorough investigations into the scam once there is a change in government.
