Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Monday absolved himself of any role in the coal blocks allocation scam highlighted by the Comptroller and Auditor-General.
“Do you think your Chief Minister would be like this?” Mr. Chouhan said, when journalists asked him at Indore about the CAG’s indictment of his government.
In November 2007, Mr. Chouhan reportedly requested Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to allow Reliance Power Ltd. to use surplus coal from captive blocks of the Sasan Ultra Mega Power Project being set up by the company in Chitrangi tehsil of Singrauli district. The PMO referred the matter to an Empowered Group of Ministers, which recommended that the company be allowed to use surplus coal. Thereafter, permission was granted.
