BJP demands explanation on Naveen-Sinha meeting

Reported by Chinmaya Dehury

Bhubaneswar, Mar 4:

Alleging a nexus between BJD and Congress to bail out each other in times of crisis, the state BJP today demanded an explanation from both CBI director Ranjit Sinha and chief minister Naveen Patnaik on their meeting yesterday.

“It can’t be a courtesy call as the CBI Director claimed. Since the state government is under scanner for its involvement in chit fund, mining and coal block allotment scam, which are sub-judice in Supreme Court, the meeting of the CBI director with the Chief Minister surely raises a suspicion and both need to explain it to the people,” said BJP spokesperson Suresh Pujari at a press conference here.

Maintaining that there was no instance of a CBI director meeting a Chief Minister, he said Sinha is not known to be a friend or even an acquaintance of the Chief Minister either, who can give a courtesy call.

Pujari alleged that it was an attempt to hush up the scams in which both the Centre and state government are involved.

“Both the Naveen Patnaik government and UPA government have gone to great lengths to ensure that the mining scam is not handed over to the CBI. Besides, politicians are involved in both mining and chit fund scams and the Supreme Court is hearing both the matters. It was an attempt to bail out each other ahead of elections,” said the senior BJP leader.

Patnaik’s role is under the scanner in at least two cases: his 2005 letter to the Coal Ministry recommending the allocation of the Talabira II coal block to the Aditya Birla group after the proposal was rejected by the screening committee and the recommendation in 2002 making a case for allocation of a coal block earlier given to another company.

The BJP also raised questions over Sinha’s staying in the Raj Bhawan. “He is just a public servant and he is not entitled to dwell in the Raj Bhawan for four days,” said Pujari informing that the party will send a memorandum to President of India over the matter.