Union Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde had said that the public memory is short and it would soon forget the coal scam, like the Bofors. ...
08:04 PM, Sep 16, 2012
New Delhi: Union Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde on Sunday invited ire from the Opposition for his remark that the coal controversy, like the Bofors scam, will soon be forgotten. "Earlier the Bofors was a talking point. People forgot about it. Now it is coal. This too will be forgotten," Shinde said in a lighter vein at a function in Pune on Saturday. "Once hands are washed off coal, they...
09:51 AM, Sep 16, 2012
New Delhi: Congress General Secretary Digvijaya Singh has hit back at those who accuse the government of being soft on graft. On Twitter, Digvijaya wrote< "Every person involved has been booked and action taken unlike the BJP which is shielding all their corrupt leaders." He also defended Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. "If PM wanted to save, Raja would have never gone to jail," said Digvijaya. Senior BJP Leader LK Advani...
09:39 AM, Sep 16, 2012
Former Supreme Court judge and Chairman of the Press Council, Justice Markandey Katju has slammed the politicians and the police for taking action against cartoonist Aseem Trivedi over some of his work that depicted Parliament as a commode and the national emblem with wolves instead of lions. Slamming the Mumbai Police, Justice Katju said that this was wrongful arrest, a crime punishable by law. Speaking to Karan Thapar on Devil's...
07:29 AM, Sep 16, 2012
New Delhi: The Inter-Ministerial Group on coal blocks on Saturday decided to recommend cancellation of two mines awarded to Bhushan Steel and SKS Ispat & Power, and forfeiture of bank guarantees for two other blocks. "The IMG has recommended cancellation of two blocks given to Bhushan Steel and SKS Ispat & Power, and suggested the forfeiture of bank guarantees for two other mines. It scrutinised four cases in all today,"...
08:10 PM, Sep 15, 2012
New Delhi: The Supreme Court has issued a notice to the UPA government over coalgate saying it will check if guidelines were followed in allocating coal blocks. "The government needs to explain coal allocations," the court said. "Coal allocation is distribution of state property," it added. Turning down the Centre's plea that the court should not go into the issue as it is being looked into by a Parliamentary committee,...
01:48 PM, Sep 14, 2012
New Delhi: In the latest twist to the coal block allocations, sources said that BJP President Nitin Gadkari will be serving a notice to Congress General Secretary Digvijaya Singh. Digvijaya had targeted the BJP President for his closeness with BJP's Rajya Sabha MP Ajay Sancheti. Digvijaya had claimed, "Ajay Sancheti, BJP MP and close aide and business partner of Nitin Gadkari has been given coal block in single bidding while...
08:47 AM, Sep 14, 2012
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday will hear a PIL seeking cancellation of 194 coal blocks allotted between 2005 and 2011. The petition also claims that these blocks were arbitrarily assigned and none of the chosen companies had a mining plan in place. Meanwhile, Union Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh on Thursday said that it was not possible to cancel all the coal block allocations. He, however, asserted that...
08:02 AM, Sep 14, 2012
Ranchi: Union Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh on Thursday said it was not possible to cancel all the coal blocks allocation but asserted that no one, even if a minister or a senior official, would be spared if found involved in the coal scam. "The government is not protecting anyone," Ramesh told a press conference in Ranchi. Charging chief ministers of BJP-ruled states with recommending coal block allocations in large...
05:05 AM, Sep 14, 2012
New Delhi: The BJP on Thursday announced that it will launch a nationwide agitation from September 17 demanding Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's resignation on the coal allocation issue and cancellation of the blocks besides an impartial probe by a Supreme Court-monitored SIT. "From September 17 to 24, we will hold the campaign across the country demanding the Prime Minister's resignation. Manmohan Singh is the first and the main accused in...
12:23 AM, Sep 14, 2012
Government on Thursday accepted the Inter-Ministerial Group's recommendations to cancel allocations to 4 companies for 8 coal blocks. ...
10:52 PM, Sep 13, 2012
New Delhi: The process to de-allocate coal blocks has begun. Acting on the recommendations of the Inter Ministerial Group (IMG) on the coal blocks allocation controversy, the Centre has decided to de-allocate four coal blocks. The decision by the government came after the IMG recommended de-allocation since the companies had not operationalised the mines. Following the decision by the government, Castron Mining Ltd, Field Mining and Ispat Ltd and Domco...
06:23 PM, Sep 13, 2012
Targeting the Congress in his pre-election campaign in Gujarat, Chief Minister Narendra Modi said the party has stolen coal. He added saying that the AICC means All India Coal Congress. ...
04:03 PM, Sep 13, 2012
New Delhi: The Inter-Ministerial Group has recommended the de-allocation of four coal blocks allotted to private companies since the end use plants had not yet been set up. De-allocation has been recommended for Castron Mining Ltd, Field Mining and Ispat Ltd and Domco Smokeless Fuels Pvt Ltd. While Castron Mining Ltd and Domco Smokeless Fuels Pvt Ltd have one block each, Field Mining and Ispat Ltd owns two blocks. The...
03:22 PM, Sep 13, 2012
New Delhi: It seems the process of de-allocation of coal blocks is getting delayed. Coal Minister Sriprakash Jaiswal has said that the Inter-Ministerial Group probing coal block allocations will submit its report on September 16 or 17. "I have told the IMG to give report in phases. IMG may not submit recommendations on all 58 coal blocks at once," Jaiswal said. "I have said even earlier that the report will...
02:17 PM, Sep 13, 2012
In more embarrassment for Congress MP and industrialist Naveen Jindal in connection with the alleged coalgate scam, another coal mine block allotted to his company has now come under the scanner. ...
12:12 AM, Sep 13, 2012
Ending speculations that she could be getting ready to contest the 2014 General Elections, Priyanka Gandhi on Wednesday stressed that she was not joining politics. ...
11:59 PM, Sep 12, 2012
New Delhi: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Wednesday took the battle over the coal blocks allocation controversy to the Rashtrapati Bhawan as a delegation of the party met President Pranab Mukherjee. Senior BJP leaders LK Advani, Murli Manohar Joshi and Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha, Sushma Swaraj met President Pranab Mukherjee seeking his intervention. The BJP asked the President to advise the Congress party to not question the...
06:58 PM, Sep 12, 2012
New Delhi: In more embarrassment for Congress MP and industrialist Naveen Jindal in connection with the alleged coalgate scam, another coal mine block allotted to his company has now come under the scanner. In the latest case, three Jindal group companies, JSW Steel, Jindal Thermal Power and Jindal Stainless Steel formed a consortium with government-owned Mahanadi Coalfields Limited in 2005 for a coal block in Talcher coalfields in Orissa. All...
06:31 PM, Sep 12, 2012
New Delhi: The Coal Ministry is hopeful of meeting the deadline of September 15 for deciding on the fate of 29 coal blocks allotted to private firms whose review has been undertaken by an Inter-Ministerial Group (IMG). "...(I am) hopeful of receiving IMG first report on coal blocks by September 15," Jaiswal told reporters after meeting Finance Minister P Chidambaram here on Wednesday. The deadline of September 15 for Inter-Ministerial...
06:26 PM, Sep 12, 2012
