Action over auction

At the release of a report on the much-hyped coal auction, a journalist asked Coal Secretary Anil Swarup if the auction should be deemed a failure since most mine owners were planning to surrender their blocks. Without batting an eyelid, Swarup said, "Bring those mine owners; they never said anything like that to me." The journalist said he was merely citing the report released at the event. As nervous silence gripped PwC analysts who had compiled the report, some of them could be seen rushing to the journalist and to Swarup in a bid to explain that the report did not say any such thing. The episode ended with Swarup breaking into a fit of laughter at the confusion, while the organisers looked unamused. Meanwhile, the coal ministry continues to defend court cases on the various steps involved in the auction filed by some private players.