Madhya Pradesh Congress Committee (MPCC) media cell chairperson Manak Agarwal has alleged that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Government is involved in large scale corruption by allowing Australian mining firm Rio Tinto to illegally mine diamonds in the State from the year 2006.
The illegal mining activities of Rio Tinto were ignored as it has gifted invaluable diamond jewelry to Sadhna Singh, wife of Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, alleged Manak in a statement on Monday.
“In 2007, the company was given a permission to conduct survey at Buxwaha tehsil in Chhatarpur district about availability of diamond for mining in the area. This permission was given only till October 2010. However, violating the terms of the permission, Rio Tinto not only conducted mining operations but continues to do so even after expiry of the permission,” Manak has said.
“Further, the company had been directed to inform the district Collector about the amount of diamonds mined on tenth of every month, but it violated this term. When the then Collector Umakant Umrao reported about this, he was immediately transferred,” Manak alleged.
The company has merely informed the government that it has mined 2600 carat diamond from the mines. The question that how it could mine diamonds when there no permission to do so, he further alleged. “It is also questionable that Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan inaugurated the jewelry show of this company in Mumbai where the illegally mined diamonds were on display,” he said.
Manak demanded that the matter should be probed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). “No investigative agency of the state can probe this matter involving corruption at the highest level. The BJP government is lobbying hard with the Centre for award of mining lease to Rio Tinto. CBI should probe this matter,” Manak said.