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BJP MP who first complained about coal scam feels vindicated

The man whose complaint triggered a chain of reactions including CBI investigation into the coal scam and which culminated in the Supreme Court cancelling allocation of 214 coal blocks on Wednesday said he felt vindicated.

"We have been working towards this for a long time. It is a great achievement, and vindication of what we have been saying for all these years," BJP MP Hansraj Ahir said.

The MP from Chandrapur in Maharashtra was among the first people to raise questions over the way coal blocks were being allocated to private companies.

In a detailed complaint to the Central Vigilance Commission in May 2012, Ahir and Union minister Prakash Javadekar claimed criminal conspiracy in allocation of coal blocks and massive losses for the exchequer. They demanded a criminal probe by CBI.

The CVC referred the complaint to CBI, asking the federal agency to probe the allocations. By August 2012, the Comptroller and Auditor General tabled its report on the coal scam in Parliament, claiming that private firms would gain Rs 1.86 lakh crore from coal blocks because they were given the blocks on nomination basis rather than through competitive bidding.

"All allocations were illegal, whatever I have said has come true. It is a great decision for the nation," Ahir said.

He said the SC order had saved "so much resources of the country, this will remain a major achievement for all of us".

Ahir said he was confident that the government would allocate the coal blocks through auction in a transparent manner. "The effort was never to scuttle economic progress, but to bring in transparency," he said.

Source: The Times of India