Modi government destroying regulatory mechanism: Yechury
New Delhi, June 30 : CPI-M leader Sitaram Yechury on Saturday targeted the Narendra Modi government over the approval given by the IRDAI to LICs plan to buy 51 per cent stake in debt-ridden IDBI Bank and alleged that it was "destroying regulatory mechanism and practising cronyism of the worst kind".
The Communist Party of India-Marxist leader said LIC's money is public money and accused the government of bailing out rich defaulters by diverting people's money.
"Bailing out rich defaulters, by diverting peoples' money. LIC is public money. Why no recovery of loans from rich defaulters? Cronyism of the worst kind by this Modi government. Rich can loot and scoot, the common Indian will pay back their loans," Yechury tweeted.
"LIC is not supposed to be in banking. It is being forced by suddenly changing rules. Regulatory mechanism being destroyed by Modi government so that defaulters don't have to repay. What is going on?" he added.
The media reported on Saturday that the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) had approved the plan of Life Insurance Corportation of India to buy 51 per cent stake in the state-owned IDBI.
Congress leader Kapil Sibal also raised questions over the IRDAI move and slammed the government over its management of economy.
"Rupee all time low, IDBI bail out by LIC for unmanagable NPAs and deposits by Indians in secret Swiss bank accounts rise by 50 per cent in 2017. Who is in ICU Modiji: Economy or NDA or Achhe Din?" he said.
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At least 19 killed as methane leak causes explosion at eastern Iran coal mine, state TV reports
Tehran (AP/PTI): A methane leak sparked an explosion at a coal mine in eastern Iran, killing at least 19 people and injuring another 17, Iranian state television reported Sunday.
The report said the deaths happened at a coal mine in Tabas, some 540 kilometers (335 miles) southeast of the capital, Tehran.
Authorities were sending emergency personnel to the area after the blast late Saturday, it said. Around 70 people had been working there at the time of the blast.
Oil-producing Iran is also rich in a variety of minerals. Iran annually consumes some 3.5 million tons of coal but only extracts about 1.8 million tons from its mines per year. The rest is imported, often consumed in the country's steel mills.
This is not the first disaster to strike Iran's mining industry. In 2013, 11 workers were killed in two separate mining incidents. In 2009, 20 workers were killed in several incidents. In 2017, a coal mine explosion killed at least 42 people.
Lax safety standards and inadequate emergency services in mining areas are often blamed for the fatalities.
