The Trinamool Congress (TMC) reacted with surprise today over the statement by Union Minister of Coal and Mines Prahlad Joshi in Parliament yesterday where he said that there has been no coal produced in Meghalaya in the last four years.
Opposition Chief Whip George Lyngdoh said that the statement contradicted what everyone in Meghalaya has seen over the years, namely the constant transport of coal out of the state.
The TMC legislator demanded clarity on the subject, as he said that the state government says one thing in the Assembly but has provided contradictory information to the Centre, on which, he said, Joshi’s statement must have been based. According to an official release, Joshi’s written answer in Parliament was based on information received from the Coal Controller Organisation (CCO).
“I saw the response of the government of India in Parliament. People across the state have been seeing trucks tumbling all over Meghalaya and being caught, so we have a very weird situation where in Parliament people are being told that there is no coal production but in the state people are seeing coal everywhere,” Lyngdoh said, adding that the answer does not bear any resemblance with the ground reality.
