Furore in Assembly over Odisha minister’s role in tainted builder company

Odisha Sun Times Bureau
Bhubaneswar, June 23:

The Odisha Assembly today witnessed uproarious scenes over Food and Consumer Affairs minister Sanjay Kumar Dasburma’s name figuring in the list of builders which have constructed illegal buildings.

Raising the issue during the Zero Hour, Congress Legislature Party (CLP) leader Narasingha Mishra demanded a statement on the issue by either the Chief Minister or the departmental minister since the inclusion of Dasburma’s name was a serious issue.

The minister’s name figured in the list of builders which have constructed buildings in contravention of rules presented by Housing and Uurban Affairs minister Pushpendra Singhdeo on Saturday, he pointed out.

His party colleague Prafulla Majhi demanded the resignation of Dasburma while Jeypore legislator Taraparasad Bahinipati created a ruckus and tried to climb the Speaker’s podium when he was not allowed to speak on the issue.

Clarifying his position, Dasburma said he had resigned from the concerned company way back in September, 2006 and the Registrar of Companies had duly accepted his resignation.

The minister urged the Housing and Urban Affairs minister to be more careful when giving information in the House and to avoid presenting dated data.

However, official sources said the case against the real estate company, in which Dasburma was a stakeholder, was registered in 2007, a year before he reportedly resigned. A senior Congress leader said Dasburma has stakes in four companies and that he will reveal the relevant documents once a probe is ordered into his undisclosed business interests.