The ongoing slugfest in Parliament over the alleged scam in the allocation of coal blocks has raised the question whether the move is deliberate attempt to shift the focus from the other, equally damning reports of the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG). The other reports allege that the government has offered post-bid concessions to the promoters of the GMR led-Delhi International Airport Limited and the Sasan power project, which is being executed by Reliance Power, headed by Anil Ambani.
The Janata Dal (United), a close ally of the Bharatiya Janata Party, which is leading the opposition protest on the issue, is upset that the charges made in the other reports have been downplayed. Talking to Millennium Post, its president Sharad Yadav said, 'It is unfortunate that due to this crisis, there has been no discussion on the other two reports.' The two reports relate to the benefits which may have been obtained by the GMR and Reliance Power following the post-bidding concessions given to them.
Explaining the issue, Yadav said, 'The coal scam which the CAG report has highlighted is a very important issue, as that coal ministry was directly under Prime Minister Manmohan Singh at that time. Parliament has come to a standstill because of this issue. But, the other two reports of CAG on power and aviation are equally important, as they also highlight corruption. These two reports are neither being highlighted in Parliament nor in the media. In fact, I feel that these reports have been ignored.'
Slamming the levy on airport development fee on passengers, the CAG report on aviation said that the civil aviation ministry had violated bid conditions for the benefit of GMR-led DIAL to the tune of over Rs 3,415.35 crore. While the other CAG report on ultra mega power projects said that Ambani-led Reliance Power benefited in the Sasan Ultra Mega Power Project.
Yadav said, 'This is a very big issue, and I am amazed why it is not being discussed. Corruption of any kind, be it the coal scam or the other two cases, the issue of corruption remains the same. While the report on coal has caused a deadlock in Parliament, I feel that even the other two reports are equally crucial. The issue of corruption in the allocation of coal mines is important, but so should be the case for the other two reports as well.'