Congress demands Naveen’s resignation over coal block allocation issue

By Prabhukalyan Mohapatra Bhubaneswar, Aug. 29: Coal scandal continues to hunt the Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik. The opposition Congress on Wednesday demanded his resignation over the issue. The demand for the chief minister’s resignation came following the admission by the state steel and mines minister Ranjanikant Singh on Tuesday that it recommended 42 companies to the Central government for coal block allocations. Most of the companies recommended by the state government are private entities The minister’s confession was in sharp contrast with the chief minister Naveen Patnaik’s earlier claim that his government had all along asked for competitive bidding for allocation of coal. “Will the chief minister Naveen Patnaik resign on his own and set an example for others over the coal issue? We do not demand his resignation. But the chief minister should resign before the BJD demands resignation of Prime Minister,” said Congress chief whip Prasad Harichandan said in the Assembly while initiating debate on coal scam. Mr Harichandan, while justifying Congress suggestions of resignation to the chief minister, said though the Centre attempted to introduce bidding process for coal block allocation in 2005, it was strongly opposed by Odisha government. “It’s quite surprising that chief minister, who is now claiming that the state government has been asking for auction-based system for allocation of mineral resources including coal, strongly opposed the bidding process,” he observed. Stating that the chief minister was telling untruths, Mr Harichandan said neither Mr Patnaik nor his government had ever suggested bidding route for coal block allocation. “ Noting that Patnaik had written several letters to the Prime Minister and Union Coal Minister recommending names of private companies for coal blocks, the Congress chief whip alleged that the state government had been pushing cases of Independent Power Producers (IPPs) for some obvious reasons. The Odisha government has found itself caught in the wrong foot over the coal block allotment issue after the Union coal minister Sriprakash Jaiswal’s comment that five coal rich states, including Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, West Bengal and Rajasthan, opposed competitive bidding for coal block allocation.