BJP agrees to debate if allocated coal blocks are cancelled

The BJP on Sunday said it could agree for a debate on the CAG report in Parliament if 142 coal block allocations, allegedly done in violation of the norms, were cancelled.

Dehradun: The BJP on Sunday said it could agree for a debate on the CAG report in Parliament if 142 coal block allocations, allegedly done in violation of the norms, were cancelled and a high level probe was instituted into the issue.

Talking to reporters here, BJP general secretary Vijay Goel said that the party could consider participating in a Parliamentary debate only if the two demands are immediately acceded to.

He, however, insisted that it should not be looked upon as a dilution of the party`s demand that the Prime Minister should resign taking responsibility for the violation of norms in allocation of coal blocks to benefit private players.

"Our demand for the Prime Minister`s resignation stands undiluted. He must resign as he was the coal minister when the coal blocks, a scarce natural resource, were allocated without bidding to benefit private parties in violation of the norms. We cannot budge an inch on this demand," he said.

Goel said cancelling the 142 allocated coal blocks was no big deal as by the government`s own admission not even a tonne of coal has been mined in these blocks.

"When a constitutional body like the CAG is citing such huge irregularities in the allocations then what is stopping the government from cancelling them," the BJP general secretary asked.

Alleging that the parties to whom coal blocks were allocated were not actual users, he demanded all the details related to the transactions be put on the net.

PTI

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