Ace director-former Coal Minister Dasari Narayana Rao was on Monday questioned by the CBI in connection with alleged irregularities in allocation of Talabira-II coal block in which Aditya Birla Group Chairman Kumar Mangalam Birla and former Coal Secretary P C Parakh are accused.

Rao was summoned to the CBI headquarters this morning and quizzed about the allocation of Talabira-II coal block at Odhisa to Hindalco despite the screening committee giving it to Public Sector Undertaking (PSU) Neyveli Lignite Limited.

66-year-old Dasari was Minister of State for Coal between 2004 to 2006 and in his second term from 2006 to 2008.