India News | BRS Holds Protests in Telangana Against Centre's 'attempts to Privatise' Singarenie Collieries

Hyderabad, Apr 8 (PTI) The ruling BRS in Telangana on Saturday held protests over the Centre's alleged attempts to privatise the state-run mining company Singareni Collieries.

The protests coincided with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to the state.

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BRS leaders, including ministers, participated in dharnas at Ramagundam, Bhupalpally and others alleging that the Centre is attempting to privatise Singareni Collieries.

State ministers Errabelli Dayakar Rao and Satyavati Rathod attended a protest at Bhupalpally, while another minister Koppula Eashwar participated in a dharna at Godavarikhani.

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Alleging that the NDA government at the Centre is making "veiled attempts" to privatise Singareni Collieries Company Limited (SCCL), BRS leader and Telangana Industries Minister K T Rama Rao had called for protests on Saturday at Mancherial, Kothagudem and Ramagundam in the state.

Pointing out that the Centre issued a notification to auction the mines in Sattupalli Block 3, Shravan Palli, Penagadapa, the BRS leader had demanded the auctioning process, which was reportedly scheduled to be conducted from March 29 to May 30, be rolled back.

Further, Rama Rao demanded that SCCL should be allocated the mines without auctioning.

Dismissing the allegation that the Centre was trying to privatise the state-run entity, Union Tourism and Culture Minister G Kishan Reddy on Thursday said Singareni Collieries comes within the purview of the Telangana government and that the state has full powers over its administration.

"If KCR family tries to privatise Singareni, BJP would stall that," he had said.

SCCL is a government coal mining company jointly owned by the Government of Telangana and Government of India on a 51:49 equity basis.

Meanwhile, Telangana Finance Minister T Harish Rao on Saturday took exception to Modi's comments that the state government is not cooperating with the Centre in completion of central projects in the state.

The situation is, in fact, reverse, he claimed.

It is the Centre that is not cooperating with Telangana by not announcing the tribal university, steel plant, railway coach factory for the state which have been mentioned in the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act, Harish Rao tweeted.

State BJP president and MP Bandi Sanjay Kumar found fault with Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao not attending PM Modi's programmes in Hyderabad on Saturday to lay foundation stone and inauguration of various projects worth over Rs 11,000 crore, besides flagging off the Vande Bharat Express train between Secunderabad and Tirupati.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)