Alleging a scam in mine allocation in Rajasthan, the Congress on Friday demanded the resignation of Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje.The party also demanded a Supreme Court-monitored CBI probe into the alleged Rs.45,000 crore scam.
Congress Rajasthan unit chief Sachin Pilot accused Raje of causing a loss of Rs.45,000 crore to the state exchequer by allocating 653 mines in the state on a first-come-first-served basis without following transparent procedure and by not auctioning them."This is the biggest scam in Rajasthan... This is the biggest loot in Rajasthan. We demand a CBI probe monitored by the Supreme Court. We also demand that the chief minister immediately step down as an independent probe is not possible till she holds the post," Pilot said.
This was done despite the central government telling the state not to do so until the policy in this regard has been formulated, he said.Congress spokesperson Randeep Surjewala alleged that one lakh bighas of land -- which has mineral value of up to Rs.2 lakh crore -- was given away without auction as part of the allocation of the 653 mines."Had it been auctioned, the Rajasthan government could have earned as much as Rs.45,000 crore," he said.The party also questioned the continued silence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in this regard despite his assertion that he would neither take bribe and nor allow anybody to practice corruption.