Coal-gate turns darker and murkier as UPA-Opposition clash worsens

Ruling the national headlines, the surfacing of the gigantic coal scam or Coal-gate has dampened the smiles of many controlling the coal sector in the country. 

The recent raids conducted by the CBI at 30 places in 11 cities of Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and other states have exposed a greatly interlinked nexus of coal miners, bureaucrats, politicians and business giants.

The ongoing debate over the heart-wrenching CAG report exposing huge loss of Rs1.86 lakh crores which rocked both the houses of the Parliament seems to be far from over as the oxytocin charged Opposition continued to halt the Parliament demanding the PM’s resignation who refuses to take the responsibility for the loss.

The latest statement of BJP senior leader Sushma Swaraj accusing Congress –led UPA government of swallowing ‘fat funds’ in the coal scam has added fire to the government versus opposition clash on the coal allocation scam.

However, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh prefers to maintain silence rather than clearing the air on his failure to check the coal scam which breathed under his nose when he was holding the additional charge of the Coal Ministry.  

With former Jharkhand Mukti Morcha leader Madhu Koda already lodged in jail for his involvement in corruption charges, his aide Vijay Joshi’s links to the Jaiswal family owing more than half of the coal blocks under question has hinted to the bigger involvement of politicians and business houses owning coal blocks.

Moreover, CBI has filed fresh FIRs against Congress Rajya Sabha member Vijay Darda and brother and Maharashtra Health Minister Rajendra Darda for their direct involvement in the Coal-gate. This hints at more red-beacon holders to be named in the dark scandal. 

With the depletion of coal mines falling prey to mining barons’ unquenching thirst for more, the UPA government and BJP led opposition are passing the ball in each other’s court by alleging lack of transparency and flouting of rules in the coal block allocation policies put in place by their previous governments.