HUSSAINIWALA, March 23 � Attacking the previous Congress-led government, Prime Minister Narendra Modi today claimed that the coal scam, which was pegged at Rs 1.76 lakh crore, could be much bigger, reports PTI.
Modi also said that the present regime led by him had garnered a revenue of Rs 2 lakh crore in bids from the auction of 20 blocks only out of total 204 blocks.
�Corruption has destroyed our country. During previous government...Coal scam was (pegged at) about Rs 1.76 lakh crore by the CAG. People could not digest the whopping scam figure...They were angry. But some people said there was not a loss of even single paisa in the scam,� he said, addressing a gathering at the India-Pakistan border here after paying tributes to freedom struggle martyrs Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev and Rajguru.
�They (previous government) committed a sin. There was a threat of closure of power units...But when we came, we transparently carried out the auction process. Only 20 blocks have been auctioned so far and the rest 180 coal blocks are yet to be auctioned.
�This scam could be bigger. From auction of just 20 blocks, the Centre is expecting to fetch Rs 2 lakh crore of revenue,� he said, and assured that the funds would be spent for the country�s development.
Citing another example of �fraud� allegedly committed by the previous government, Modi said the NDA-led government was successful in saving about Rs 200-225 per LED bulb in its purchase.
�In 2014, the previous government bought LED bulbs at a rate of about Rs 300 per bulb for saving energy. We worked properly on it and we bought LED bulbs at a rate of Rs 80 per unit. We were successful in saving Rs 200-225 per bulb in its purchase,� he said.
