Swapan Dasgupta urges PM not to inaugurate Birbhum coal block

September 19, 2019 15:52

A day after West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee invited Prime Minister Narendra Modi to inaugurate the Birbhum coal block, Rajya Sabha MP Swapan Dasgupta wrote a letter to the PM on Thursday, saying he should await proper environmental clearances and a rehabilitation package before doing so, otherwise it might send "wrong signals".

Dasgupta, who was nominated to the Upper House of Parliament by the Modi government, was part of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party's political campaign in West Bengal.

He wrote the letter to Modi a day after Banerjee invited the prime minister to inaugurate the Deocha Pachami, the second-largest coal block in the world, after Durga Puja.

In the letter, Dasgupta said if the prime minister inaugurated the coal block at this juncture, it would lead to "serious distortions" and open the way for unscrupulous operators.

Dasgupta added that the prime minister's presence at such an event might indicate that all the necessary formalities were completed and coal mining was likely to be operational within a very short time. "It would not be in the interests of the state if your name is sought to be used in a manner that brings disrepute to the state," he said. -- PTI

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