Coal auctions: BRS continues to attack Congress

Hyderabad. Hyderabad: The BRS on Friday continued its attack on the Congress government, alleging that it has deliberately mortgaged the future of the Singareni colliery by not opposing the auction of coal blocks by the Centre in Telangana. Questioning Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy on the auction for the second consecutive day, the BRS working president said that in 2021 Revanth had sought transfer of four coal blocks in the state to Singareni. “Today you sent your deputy chief minister to attend and publicise the auction which you and the Congress had opposed in the past. Are you not convinced that the auction of Telangana coal blocks will inevitably pave the way for privatisation of Singareni under the guise of disinvestment?” Rama Rao asked in a post on X.

He was accompanied by senior BRS leader and former MP B. Also present was former MP B. Vinod Kumar, who told reporters, “The Congress is trying to spread a false story by saying that the BRS supported the Mineral Bill in Parliament, which was passed amid strong protests from BRS MPs. Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka should apologise for saying that the BRS supported the Bill and the auction of coal blocks.”

Meanwhile, former Energy Minister and BRS MLA G. Jagadish Reddy credited his party for “forcing Congress leaders to change their stand on the auction of coal blocks in the state”. In another press conference, he said Rama Rao’s questioning of the Congress’ silence on the auction forced the ruling party to change its stand and urge the Centre to allocate coal blocks to Singareni instead of auctioning them.