Congress, BJP conspiring to privatise Singareni coal mines, says KTR

He stated that Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy joined hands with the BJP-led goverment at the Centre to undermine the profitable state-run enterprise.

Hyderabad: BRS working president KT Rama Rao charged the Congress and the BJP of colluding with each other and auctioning Telangana’s coal mines to privatise the Singareni Collieries Company Limited (SCCL). Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy had joined hands with the BJP-led goverment at the Centre to undermine the profitable State-run enterprise, he said.

“By not allocating coal mines, they aim to push Singareni into losses and eventually privatise the company. Every Singareni worker understands the conspiracy by the Congress and the BJP whose representatives were seen smiling at the auction of coal mines,” he said.

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In a meeting with the leaders of BRS and its affiliated Telangana Boggu Gani Karmika Sangham (TGBKS) from the Singareni area at Telangana Bhavan on Thursday, Rama Rao remembered the role of employees and workers of Singareni and other public sector organisation in the Telangana Statehood movement. He recalled that during the Sakala Janula Samme, the stalling of operations in Singareni mines affected coal supplies to five States, grabbing the attention of the entire nation.

He stated that strengthening public sector undertakings has always been a policy of the BRS. “We resisted private pressures and opted for LIC for implementing Rythu Bima and other life insurance coverage schemes. Similarly, we assigning works to PSUs like BHEL for building thermal power and irrigation projects, over private entities,” he noted.

Rama Rao said during the BRS’s nine and a half years regime, they worked tirelessly for Singareni’s development and expansion. He said former Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao opposed auction of coal mines in Telangana for over nine years. “Even when the Central government auctioned two mines to private companies, we could successfully stop them from mining,” he added.

The BRS working president criticised both the Congress and the BJP over their attempts to privatise the Singareni coal mines within a short span of coming to power. “They put Telangana coal mines up for auction under the illusion that Telangana’s voice is absent in Parliament. But BRS has always fought for Singareni and will continue its fight notwithstanding its presence in the Parliament,” he said. He vowed that the BRS would safeguard the interests of Singareni workers under any circumstances.