Journalism of Courage
Tourism Minister Subodh Kant Sahai,who is embroiled in a controversy over allocation of a coal block in Jharkhand,on Friday targetted BJP but was cornered over the letter he had written to Prime Minister recommending a company in which his brother is a director.
This debate is sandwiched between a Delhi High Court judgement and bunch of lies being spread by BJP. Parliament is not able to function due to their lies even as the whole country is watching, Sahai said at a press conference called by him to clear his name in the coal allocation controversy.
To a question,he ruled out resigning from the government and shot back,For what.
BJP has produced a letter written by Sahai to the Prime Minister seeking his personal intervention for allocation of two coal blocks to SKS Ispat and Power Limited,in which,the party said his brother Sudhir K Sahai is a director.
Asked about the allegations,the minister maintained that his brother was on the board of the company as an honorary director.
Sahai cited the court order to argue that his brother is neither a shareholder nor a director.
However,he accepted that he had written the letter to the Prime Minister seeking his intervention for coal block allocation. He insisted that he has done so for development of the state.
In future also,I would make such recommendations for the development of my state (Jharkhand), Sahai said.
Asked if it did not tantamount to misuse of his office as his brother was connected to the company,Sahai said,I would not recommend any person on the street. We recommend somebody only after checking his antecedents.
He alleged that Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh was aware of the allocation and said that Leader of the Opposition in Rajya Sabha Arun Jaitley had represented one of the parties as an advocate before Delhi High Court.
Despite this,BJP is levelling these allegations against me and disrupting Parliament to realise their dream of coming to power which will never be fulfilled, Sahai said.
The Tourism Minister was hard pressed defending his letter to the Prime Minister seeking coal block allocation for the company with which his brother was associated.
Sahai said the court judgement was in his favour. There are several controversies. It is a false allegation, he said.
Sahai had written a letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on February 5,2008 seeking his personal intervention for allocation of two coal blocks to SKS Ispat and Power Limited. The very next day,the PMO wrote to the Coal Secretary recommending appropriate action.
Clarifying his stand on his letter,he maintained that the court had observed that the letter has nothing to do with the allocation of coal block for the power project.
Asked about the presence of his brother in a screening committee meeting,he said the decision to make the coal allocation to the company was made at the 35th meeting of the screening committee held on September 13,2007,long before he wrote to the Prime Minister.
Defending his brother,the minister said,So many people provide services to various companies. This does not mean they are part of company.
He maintained that his name was cleared by the Delhi High Court in a case filed on these two coal block allocations.
He alleged that some of the petitioners in the case were close to BJP and RSS.
Sahai maintained that the court had stated,This allegation can only be a product of fanciful imagination… Further,not a scrap of paper has been produced to prove the claim…. The matter is sub-judice,he said.
Govt rules out cancellation of allocation of coal blocks
Unfazed by Opposition protests in the wake of the CAG report,the government today ruled out cancellation of allocation of coal blocks maintaining that no wrong has been done.
“There is no question of cancellation. I personally would be opposed to it because it would mean you are accepting your guilt… No wrong has been done anywhere,” Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal told reporters.
Seeking to pick holes in the CAG report that has spoken of undue benefits of Rs 1.86 lakh crore to private players,Bansal suggested that the methodology adopted by the government auditor was faulty and so were his assumptions.
The CAG has come out with the figure by extrapolating the cost and the selling price of coal by state-owned Coal India Ltd without going into the issues that may arise in developing the mines,Bansal said.
Besides,he said that those who have been allocated the captive blocks for purposes like setting up steel and cement plant and thermal power units would need an investment to the tune of Rs 15 lakh crore.
Seeking to debunk the CAG findings of undue benefits to private players,he said that the monthly interest on such a huge investment would be to the tune of Rs 15,000 crore. He said benefits to private players would be negligible in the backdrop of the cost of investment.
“In such a scenario,can we ever concede the demand of the BJP for the resignation of the Prime Minister,” he asked.
The process of deallocation of blocks is an ongoing one,he said adding that the CBI has already started a probe and whoever has done wrong,will face music,he said.
