Senior BJP leader Prakash Javadekar today alleged that irregularities in allocation of offshore mineral blocks to private firms point to a mega scam that dwarfs all "scams" under the watch of UPA so far.
"Unlike petrol and oil blocks, allocation of these 37 offshore mineral blocks was not done in transparent manner. This particular scam will break all previous records. We will reveal details of the scam next week", Javadekar told reporters.
It is noted that the CBI had already registered a preliminary enquiry into allocation of 62 off-shore mineral blocks in the sea bed of the Bay of Bengal and Arabian Sea.
In March last year, the government had placed 62 blocks on offer, out of which many were allegedly bagged by companies owned by family members of unknown officials of the Indian Bureau of Mines.
"The mineral blocks were allotted to people having vested interests", Javadekar said.
In a veiled reference to former Law Minister Ashwani Kumar who had to resign in the wake of controversy over his vetting the CBI report on the coal blocks allocation scam probe, Javadekar said "One minister has gone in the coal block allocation scam. Soon the investigations will come at the doorsteps of prime minister".
