New Delhi: Rubbishing Finance Minister P Chidambaram`s zero-loss theory in coal allocation scam, BJP today said even in cases where no mining was done the allotee gained as his worth in the market went up due to the blocks he owned.
BJP Chief spokesperson Ravi Shankar Prasad gave an example to drive home his point on the issue.
He said if a person was alloted a piece of prime land, his financial standing in the market would go up even if he did not put the property to any use.
This would help the person financially in any other venture that he undertakes, he added.
The coal block allottees, who did not do any mining, benefitted in a similar manner, Prasad said.
Chidambaram, at a press conference here, said CAG`s concept of presumptive loss was "flawed" and there was no loss because no mining has taken place as yet.
"This presumptive loss (of Rs 1.86 lakh crore projected by CAG in its report), I deeply regret to say, is so flawed... incisive articles by very eminent writers have pointed out these flaws.
"If coal is not mined, if it remains buried in mother earth, where is the loss. The loss can arise only once the coal is taken out of mother earth, mined and sold at unacceptable price or value. But if the coal is not mined, where is the loss," the Finance Minister said.
BJP also justified the continuing disruption of Parliament on the coal allocation issue saying "because of our unconventional Parliamentary interventions, the country has benefitted".
"In 2010, we did not allow Parliament to function in the winter session. This led to the auctioning of 3G licenses which led to huge profits to the exchequer and the recent revaluation of 2G licenses at Rs 14,000 Crore," Prasad said.
PTI
