Venugopal slams govt over last-minute withdrawal of Offshore Mining question in Lok Sabha

Congress MP KC Venugopal Wednesday raised serious concerns about the sudden withdrawal of a question on the auction of offshore mining blocks in the Lok Sabha. The question, which was listed for discussion, was mysteriously pulled out without explanation, Venugopal alleged.

The question, asked by two ruling party MPs, was expected to shed light on the government’s offshore mining policy.

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Expressing apprehension about the environmental dangers, lack of socio-economic impact assessments, and opaque auction process related to offshore mining, Venugopal had also previously raised this issue through a Calling Attention Motion in the last session of Parliament and had submitted questions for this session as well.

On the issue of transparency and the state of democracy, Venugopal alleged that the government was trying to protect its dubious offshore mining policy from being exposed.

He said that the withdrawal of the question raises several questions, including, ”Why was the question pulled out? Was it to avoid scrutiny of the government’s offshore mining policy? Who is the government trying to protect? Are there specific interests or stakeholders that the government is trying to shield? What does this say about transparency? Does this incident reflect a larger issue with transparency and accountability in the government’s decision-making process?”

Venugopal expressed disappointment, stating that the government was expected to offer clarity and accountability on the issue. The sudden withdrawal of the question has sparked concerns about the government’s commitment to transparency and accountability.