With Congress targeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the alleged scam involving Gujarat State Petroleum Corporation, a senior Gujarat minister today termed the charge as "completely wrong" and claimed the then UPA government had approved of the expenditure.
After a CAG report questioned the investment of Rs 19,716 crore made by GSPC for oil and gas exploration in Krishna Godavari (KG) basin, Congress has used the issue to target Modi who was the state's Chief Minister when the PSU decided to go for the project.
The state's Energy Minister Saurabh Patel insisted that the public sector undertaking will recover its investment but it will take time as such projects have a long gestation period.
Patel, who was considered a close aide of Modi during his reign in the state, launched a counter attack on the then Congress-led UPA government at the Centre, saying if gas was not in place, then why it gave the permission for exploration and subsequent expenditure.
The opposition party tried to raise the issue in the Lok Sabha today but the Speaker disallowed its demand.
"There was not a single thing that GSPC did which the Centre had not approved of... To blame the Prime Minister now is completely wrong," Patel told reporters, adding everything that the PSU decided would go to a management committee here for approval and the then Director General of Hydrocarbons was also its member.
Attacking Congress for raising the issue, he alleged it was doing so to "divert attention from corruption charges" facing in the AgustaWestland scam.
Patel claimed that Modi as chief minister professionalised PSUs like GSPC and they were given "complete autonomy", leading to their financial turn around.
Asked about CAG's observations, he said they as per procedure will go to the parliamentary committee-concerned which will seek the state's reply and Gujarat will answer them.
He admitted that there was some "technical issues" facing the project in the KG Basin but insisted that the firm will recoup its investment over time.
In this sector, the success rate of companies, including ONGC, is 30-35 per cent but it is 45 per cent for GPSC, he said.
