DELHI--The ruling BJP on Sunday asked Congress to apologise to the nation for its coal mine policy. The party claimed that the present government’s decision to auction coal blocks would bring in huge benefits for the country and the tribals.
“The guilty of the coal scam shall be punished by the court but the Congress leadership should apologise to the nation,” BJP national secretary Shrikant Sharma said.
“They should also apologise to the poor and the tribals of West Bengal, Orissa, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh because these states are bearing the curse of poverty due to the policies of the Congress government,” Sharma said in statement. He added that the arbitrary allocation of coal blocks by the previous UPA government had led to massive corruption.
According to the BJP, the Narendra Modi government’s decision to auction coal blocks – the first phase of which began on February 14 — would have a benefit of Rs 1,33,513 crores and would generate a revenue of Rs 83,662 crore.
“Dozens of coal blocks are yet to be auctioned and as per projections the nation’s funds can benefit by up to Rs 15 lakh crore,” Sharma said.
He said the main beneficiaries would be states like Orissa, Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh. “On one hand, the poor state governments’ treasury will get massive amounts and on the other, they will get cheap electricity.”
The Indian Express
