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| Politics
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| Not interested in PM statement |
| Not interested in PM statement on coal-gate, he should quit: BJP
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| INDIA
, 21-August-2012
1:54:12 AM |
| The Prime Minister is likely to make a statement today in parliament on the recent report by the national auditor that says the country lost 1.86 lakh crores because coal fields were given too cheaply to private and state-run firms. From 2005 to 2009, 142 coal fields were allotted, instead of being auctioned. For a part of this period, the PM held direct charge of the Coal Ministry.
That has given the BJP a direct line of attack on Dr Manmohan Singh. The party stalled both houses of parliament this morning, forcing an adjournment. Today, its leaders said they are not interested in the PM's statement, they just want him to quit. Last week, after the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) presented its report, the BJP said the Prime Minister should "introspect and resign."
Dr Singh is likely to present his government's defense today. Coal Minister Sriprakash Jaiswal said last week that the calculations of the auditor are incorrect. "The back of the envelope calculations," the government said, ignored basics like the fact that the cost of extracting coal varies from mine to mine. The government has also stressed that revenue was not the main goal - at the time, the surging economy and industry needed coal quickly and the private sector was tapped to augment the capacity of the state-run Coal India Limited. The government has also said that the law at the time did not permit for an auction, and that changing administrative and legal policies would have taken years. . But the auditor says that competitive bidding could have been introduced in 2006. The law was finally amended in 2010.
What the BJP has failed to explain is the opposition expressed to an auction by some of the states where it was in power. Rajasthan and Chattisgarh both wrote letters opposing a bidding process.
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