Centre forcing States to buy coal to benefit business tycoon close to BJP, says KTR

The Power ministry had sent letters to all States asking them to import coal, citing shortage, but real intention behind it was to benefit a business tycoon, he said.

Hyderabad: Industries Minister KT Rama Rao on Friday said the Centre’s insistence on States to import coal for power generation was intended to help business groups supported by the Bharatiya Janata Party.

Responding to BJP member Eatala Rajender’s claim that the Centre did not have any plan to privatise Singareni Collieries Company Limited (SCCL) during the debate on Budget demands in the Assembly, Rama Rao said the Centre was forcing States to purchase imported coal to favour a company close to the BJP leadership.

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The Power ministry had sent letters to all States and power generation companies asking them to import coal, citing shortage of coal, but the real intention behind it was to benefit a business tycoon, he said.

“Everyone knows for whom all this drama is being done. To benefit a business tycoon, the BJP government is forcing States to import coal. On the other hand, the BRS government does not work for individuals but for the people,”he said.

Countering the claims of the BJP MLA that the Centre had no plan to privatise SCCL, Rama Rao said like the Visakhapatnam Steel Plant (VSP) was financially weakened by the Centre in a phased manner before putting it up for sale, it was planning a similar operaiton on Singareni too. “Don’t try to mislead us about the Centre’s intentions,” he said.