Naveen can’t escape CBI inquiry in Hindalco case, avers KV

OST Bureau

Bhubaneswar, Oct 23:

Even as the ruling BJD claims that the decision to allocate the Talabira II coal block to the Aditya Birla group owned company Hindalco was taken by the Centre, the state BJP today said Naveen Patnaik cannot escape blame in the scam by shifting the buck to Centre.

“The CBI is very much at the threshold and can knock at the door of Naveen Patnaik anytime and interrogate him in the coal block allocation scam. He can’t escape from the scam and has to face the CBI inquiry,” said state BJP president KP Singhdeo at a press conference here.

Asked about the BJD’s demand for an apology from the opposition for tarnishing the image of party supremo and chief minister Naveen Patnaik to get political mileage, Singhdeo said, “We would not beg apology…it is BJD and the chief minister, who should seek apology from the people of Odisha for misleading them.”

The state BJP president also took a dig at Patnaik’s claim that the letter written to the Prime Minister favouring Hindalco was in the greater interest of the state. “While the state government had signed about 46 MoUs, it recommended only some names selectively. If the recommendations was for value addition and in the interest of the state, then why Naveen did adopt a selective policy to recommend coal blocks only for Jindal, Vedanta, Sainik mining and the latest Hindalco,” asked the BJP leader seeking a clarification from Naveen in the matter.

“The BJD is claiming that it only made a recommendation while it was the Centre which took the final decision on the allocation. I want to know why did the chief minister, who knew that the final decision is with Centre, write the letter to the PM in the first place?” asked Singhdeo stating that the revelation had exposed the double standards of the state government.