Congress Minister Sachin Pilot demanded immediate resignation of Rajasthan Chief Minister (CM) Vasundhara Raje for her alleged involvement in the mining scam in the state.
While Pilot, former MLA, demanded a Supreme Court-monitored Central Investigation Agency (CBI) probe into the scam, RS Surjewala, alleged involvement of various officials of the state government including recently arrested Principal Secretary of mining department, Ashok Singhvi.
Senior Indian Administrative Services (IAS) Officer Ashok Singhvi, who was also the Principal Secretary of Mining during Raje’s last term as CM, was arrested by Rajasthan’s Anti Corruption Bureau (ACB) on September 17 in an alleged case of graft involving Rs 2.55 crore.
RS Surjewala quoted a Supreme Court order from 2012 which said that alienation of natural resources for commercial purposes can incur the wrath of Article 14 of the Constitution.
The Congress has basically alleged that the Rajasthan government, to avoid allotting mines through set procedure of bidding, earned illegal money by allotting mines on first come, first served basis.
(With agency inputs)
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)