The company controlled by the family members of Maharashtra’s Water Resources Minister Sunil Tatkare, owned shares in companies currently being investigated by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in the coal blocks allocation scam, according to documents obtained by a former MP of the BJP.
The CBI has filed criminal complaints against Grace Industries Ltd and Gupta Coal India Ltd in the coal blocks allocation scam. The allegations against these companies are that they had misrepresented or concealed facts in the application form in order to obtain undue benefits in the allocation of coal blocks.
As per documents obtained by senior leader and former MP of BJP, Kirit Somaiya, Next Technologies (India) Private Limited, a company which has Mr. Tatkare’s son, daughter and daughter-in-law as directors, owned shares in both these companies. Mr. Tatkare of the NCPwas also allegedly involved in the recently exposed multi-thousand crore irrigation scam in the State.
“The CBI has been demanding documents from the Maharashtra government in relation with the coal block allocations in the State. But the government is consistently denying them the documents relating to these companies. Now we know the reason,” he said at a press conference held in Mumbai on Saturday.
As per the list of investments made by Next Technologies, the company had invested in both the tainted companies in the financial year 2008-‘09, and in Grace Industries in 2009-‘10.
“As the minister in the Central government had to resign due to the coal scam, we demand that the State government ask Mr. Tatkare to resign immediately for free and fair inquiry in this case,” said Mr. Somaiya.
The BJP has made it clear that it will submit all the documents related to the scam to the CBI.