Lucknow: Uttar Pradesh Congress Thursday demanded a CBI probe into the alleged irregularities in mining of sand and stone in the state which it said could prove to be of bigger magnitude than in Karnataka`s Bellary.
"Illegal mining of sand and stone is going on unhindered in Uttar Pradesh under the patronage of senior officials and ministers who are its direct beneficiaries," Congress spokesman Dwijendra Tripathi alleged, demanding a CBI probe in the matter. "Goonda tax worth lakhs of rupees is being collected from each vehicle which ferries sand, stone and other such material on a daily basis and its maximum share goes to those occupying the topmost positions," Tripathi said, claiming that this scam is a bigger one than the one involving Bellary`s Reddy brothers in Karnataka. Tripathi said certain comments against the chief minister in the Wikileaks cables have cast a shadow on the image of the state at international level and it is imperative for the government to come out clean by ordering a CBI inquiry into the alleged mining scam.
He also demanded a CBI probe into the land acquisition in Nodia and for the Yamuna expressway.
PTI