Narendra Modi: Rs.Two lakh crore by auctioning 20 coal mines

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said that the previous UPA government should explain where the money was used when it had allocated 204 mines.

Where had the money gone when the previous government allocated as many as 204 coal mines? People at the helm then should now explain how the present government could mobilize Rs 2 lakh crore out of auction of only 20 coal mines," Modi said.

The Prime Minister promised full support of the Centre for development of eastern states like Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and West Bengal as he invoked Lord Jagganath during an over half-an-hour speech that he began in Odiya after dedicating to the nation a Rs 12,000-crore expansion project of state-run SAIL's Rourkela Steel Plant.

Terming the recent Rs 2-lakh crore coal auction as a major success, Modi also said that the money from the auction would not go to the Center's coffers, but to the concerned states including Odisha, while he asked the state government to focus on long-term development plans.

Maintaining that coal has now been transformed into diamond, he said the present government put the coal mines for auction after the Supreme Court rejected allocation of 204 coal mines made earlier. Asserting that there would be no compromise on honesty and transparency, Modi said, "We are in the government for 10 months and there is no scam or financial irregularities."