New Delhi: Congress on Tuesday stepped up demand
for the resignation of Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh
in the wake of a CAG report indicting his ministry for
allocating coal blocks at throwaway price to a company.
At a joint press conference at the AICC headquarters,
party General Secretary B K Hariprasad, Chhattisgarh PCC
Chief Nand Kumar Patel and CLP leader Ravindra Chaubey also
sought to drag BJP chief Nitin Gadkari into the controversy.
They alleged that the company which has benefited by the
allocations belongs to Nagpur based Rajya Sabha MP from BJP
Ajay S Sancheti who is close to Gadkari.
Patel and Chaubey said that they have also sought the
permission of the state governor for prosecution of the Chief
Minister as also a former Chief Secretary for allegedly giving
over 1,000 hectare land to the Sterlite company at "throwaway
price".
It is alleged that it caused a loss of Rs 1,052 crore to
the exchequer.
The state Congress leaders alleged that the mineral-rich
state has become an "object of loot" through signing of MoUs
for setting up power plants and claimed that 65 such MoUs
seeking an investment of Rs 3.25 lakh crore have been signed.
The Chief Minister is "directly to blame" for the
irregularities in the mining and power sectors as he is also
the Minister in charge of these departments, they said.
Congress is pressing for a CBI probe into the allotment of
coal blocks at cheap rates, which it alleges has benefitted a
number of BJP office bearers including Gadkari, a charge
denied by the BJP.
PTI
