Congress stepped up attack on Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje over an alleged Rs45,000 crore mines allocation scam, as it sought CAG and CVC’s intervention and also a Supreme Court-monitored CBI probe into the “massive bungling”.
Alleging massive scam into the allocation of 653 mines “without auction” by the Raje Government, the party sought her sacking. A delegation of Congress comprising of former Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, PCC chief Sachin Pilot, ClP leader Rameshwar Dudhi and AICC Communication department in-charge Randeep Singh Surjewala met the CVC and the CAG and handed over separate memoranda in this regard.
Pilot alleged that one lakh bighas of land — with mineral value of up to Rs2 lakh crore — was given away without auction as part of the allocation of 653 mines. He also alleged that the state government wanted to “hush up” the matter by laying the entire blame on the door of the state mining secretary Ashok Singhvi, who was arrested in the case.
“No single officer could have been able to allocate 653 mines on his own. It happened because Rajasthan government wanted to allocate mines in a hurry before Union government could issue a gazettee on the amended MMDR Act 1957, which made the auction process necessary for mine allocation. Centre had issued a circular on October 30 last year to states asking them not to issue any mining license till the amended MMDR Act comes into practice. But Rajasthan government, in a hurry, allocated 653 mines after October,” Pilot said addressing a press conference at AICC headquarters.