Welcoming the Supreme Court’s decision to quash the allocation of all but four of the 218 coal blocks, the Aam Aadmi Party said here on Wednesday that the order “vindicates its stand on corruption by successive governments.”
The BJP said that in the absence of a policy, coal block allocations were made by the earlier National Democratic Alliance government on a first come, first served basis. However, “illegal” allocations had been made from 2004 to 2009 when the United Progressive Alliance was in power.
The party said it was studying the court order that “removes confusion” and enabled the present NDA government to auction the blocks in a “transparent manner” and usher in power sector reforms.
Party secretary Shrikant Sharma charged the UPA with ignoring procedures in allocating coal blocks to companies that had nothing to do with power production. “Our stand is vindicated. The UPA’s corruption stands exposed,” he told presspersons here.
The AAP said the judgment would have a lasting impact and would discourage unscrupulous corporates and politicians from plundering natural resources.
“The precious resources belong to the people and not to politicians and the corporate sector,” the party said.
