New Delhi, Sep 13 (ANI): The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Thursday lashed out at the Congress-led UPA Government at the Centre for its continuous denial on the coal blocks allocation scam.
BJP spokesperson Rajiv Pratap Rudy said that cases against the leaders of the Congress Party have been coming to the fore every now and they are all in the defensive mode.
"The name of Sriprakash Jaiswal and not only him, many ministers in the union government of the Congress party, even alliance partners and even members of parliament in the Congress, their names are regularly figuring in the Coalgate scam. No denial is going to work. The CBI's investigation and everyday something new and afresh is tumbling down," said Rudy.
"The fact remains that all this while, the representatives of the government, whether it is the Prime Minister or Chidambaram or Sibal or Sriprakash Jaiswal himself, are denying it," he added.
Rudy alleged that the Congress Party has behaved in a contradictory manner, which shows that they are guilty of being involved in the scam.
"Yesterday, there was a reported letter written by the Finance Ministry, where they have challenged the authority of the IMG to make recommendations for cancellations of coal blocks. There are a lot of contradictions in the entire statements made by the government," said Rudy.
"These contradictions thereby itself establishes the guilt, the culpability of the government and prima facie the entire finger points the charges, which the BJP and other opposition parties have levelled against the Prime Minister and what the CAG has said about benefitting private individuals and companies to the tune of 1.86 lakh crores. It is not impossibly true, but it is true and that is why the BJP has demanded the cancellation of entire 145 coal blocks," he added.
Rudy further said that the Congress Ministers have been trying to defend themselves and stated that Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh delayed the auction process in the coal block allocation.
"I think most of the ministers were talking about the Coalgate are trying to defend the defenceless. The very fact that in 2003, the authority, when the electricity authority was amended, private partners would come for coal mining for captive power. There was a need to change how you allot coal blocks to individuals and private companies and whether PSUs no longer the sole authority for manufacturing electricity," said Rudy.
"There itself, it was thought that the right process would be auction and that is why the prime minister himself proposed that there should be an auction and he delayed it, deliberate delay took place for eight years, before a law to be formed. This while, coal blocks were allotted to a screening committee, which was complete adhocism by the prime minister," he added
Rudy also criticised the government over their decision to raise fuel price, as it is reeling under huge inflation.
"We have warned the government, the country is already reeling under huge inflation, price rise. It has been a mismanaged economy. The prime minister has been tom tomming about nine percent growth, which has slumped to 5.5 now. The industrial production has stopped. Here is a government, which is again trying to impose another price hike with its petroleum products," said Rudy.
"It's unacceptable, the country will burn this time, the government has no moral power or right, but it is itself indulging in corruption. Lakhs and lakhs and crores are being benefitted, lost from the government's treasury. Government has no authority whatsoever to unleash another rein of terror through raising the prices of petrol and diesel," he added.
Union Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister S. Jaipal Reddy had earlier on Tuesday said that the hike in fuel prices is unavoidable.
"I would like to tell the people, in all humility, that increase is unavoidable. It will not give us pleasure. We will have to perform our unpleasant duty," he said.
According to reports, an increase in petrol, diesel, domestic cooking gas (LPG) and kerosene prices looks imminent after the Finance Ministry said it has no money to provide for fuel subsidy.
Diesel, domestic LPG and PDS kerosene rates have not been changed since June 2011 even though cost of production has soared 28 percent.
State-owned fuel retailers are losing Rs 560 crore per day on sale of diesel and cooking fuel, and are forced to resort to short-term borrowings to meet funds needed for importing crude oil (raw material). (ANI)
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