Union minister of state for human resource development (HRD) D. Purandeswari, who arrived at Dimapur Saturday, defended the UPA government while attacking the BJP for preventing discussions on allegations over coal block allocations.
The minister, who spoke to the local media at the police guest house at Chumukedima, slammed BJP for preventing a healthy debate so as to deprive people from knowing facts in order to clear doubts in their minds.
She also lamented that even a leader like Arun Jaitley went so far as to justify obstruction of parliament.
This, the minister said was despite the fact that a lot of coalition parties within the NDA itself like JD(U), Shiv Sena were in favour of deliberation and discussion, the BJP remained hell bent on disallowing any discussion to take place in the House.
She said the CAG report would have had to be first studied by the PAC, whose chairman is a member of the BJP. She said the PAC would have had an opportunity to study the report scientifically such as the mind boggling figure of Rs.1.86 lakh crore loss as presumed by the CAG.
AICC general secretary and former Goa chief minister Luizinho Faleiro, who also accompanied the union minister of state, said the purpose of the press meet was to brief the people about the different issues which were being debated in the country.
Calling the amount that CAG produced as “totally erroneous”, Faleiro said he did not know what was the “hidden agenda” of the CAG, saying the CAG had not taken the allotment during NDA period. In 1998-2004, 32 coal blocks allotments were done by NDA out of which 16 were to private sector companies and 16 to PSUs.
Also, terming it unfortunate the accusation against prime minister by the BJP, Faleiro accused BJP of double speak. The visit was part Congress party initiative to send union ministers to the public and “explain to them the actual facts.”
Among others, those present at the meet included NPCC president S.I. Jamir, CLP leader Tokheho Yepthomi, MLA and former chief minister K.L.Chishi, MLA and former NPCC president I.Imkong and MLA I.Kheto.
Handout by MoS
The minister’s handout on coal allocation, was circulated by NPCC at the press meet in Chumukedima, wherein it revealed that the coalgate scam involved BJP chief ministers of Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan (then under BJP) including chief minister of Orissa Naveen Patnaik and then chief minister of West Bengal Buddhadeb Bhattacharya.
The handout stated facts and figures of coalgate, which the BJP has used against the UPA.
According to the handout, the CAG ignored previous allocations from 1993 by various governments, especially from 1998 to 2004 under the BJP-led NDA when captive coal blocks were allotted to 16 private companies and 16 to government sector companies “without following any transparent procedure.”
The handout explained that the prime minister Dr. Manmohan Singh actually “made improvements in the procedure in 2005” when applications received through open advertisements were examined and evaluated by a screening committee and representatives from state governments, related ministries of centre and coal companies.
It said, firms allotted coal blocks were required to submit bank guarantees.
While finalizing MMDR Act, the prime minister decided that bidding amount would accrue to states in addition to royalty earned by them.
On the CAG report which the opposition is swearing by, the handout described it as “flawed” as the coal ministry’s version was not sought before finalization of the report. Disputing the CAG report, the handout said CAG “has neither talked of loss or wrongful gain or presumptive loss” but based its calculations of financial gains of Rs.1.86 lakh crore from assumptions of what a private sector company would earn while mining in a 35-year period.
Explaining the flaws, the handout pointed out that CAG based the cost of mining 1(one) ton of coal by Coal India Limited (CIL). It then calculated sale price as per CIL rate of Rs.295 per ton. CAG then multiplied the profit at Rs.295 per ton with estimated quantity of coal in the allotted mine and assuming 73% was mined by a private company.
The handout described the CAG’s above methodology of computing as “erroneous and misleading”. It provided further explanations by citing that none of the companies allotted coal was entitled to sell or trade in coal unlike CIL.
It said of 86 coal blocks allotted during UPA-I several are in forest and Naxal affected areas which the CAG did not account for the cost of capital and cost resettlement and rehabilitation.
Further, it was pointed out that the CAG has also not taken into account huge investments by private companies for generation of power and production of steel and the benefits.
It also said CAG “forgot” to deduct coal royalty and 33% corporate tax on profit on allottees.
The handout also maintained that coal blocks were allotted only for power generation requiring setting up of plants and selling electricity produced only to state electricity boards through competitive bidding.
Terming it as “flawed” the suggestion of the CAG that the government should have circumvented the legislative process through administrative instructions to states for competitive bidding; the handout revealed that a number of state chief ministers ruled by BJP and others opposed it. Even at a meeting convened by the prime minister on July 25, 2005 attended by states with coal and lignite reserves, the states opposed the switch over to competitive bidding, it said.
In view of the opposition against competitive bidding, the meeting then decided to continue with allocation of coal blocks through the Screening Committee till a new procedure became operational. The handout said the MMRDA Act could not be passed earlier due to opposition from the states.
On the BJP slamming the UPA for castigating the CAG report, the handout reminded that then BJP disinvestment minister Arun Shourie had called the CAG “idiotic” on the disinvestment of PSU Hotel Centaur. It also said Arun Jaitley had said the CAG acted “on hearsay and not on facts” on the coffin gate scam.
Therefore, when the Congress now questions the CAG, the BJP were criticizing it, it said.
On the demand of the BJP that the prime minister should resign, the handout instead asked the top BJP leadership to resign for “misleading the country.”