'Missing' chit fund documents sparks political blame game in Odisha; depositors await refunds

Reiterating their commitment to return the chit fund money to the affected depositors in the state, Odisha BJP president Manmohan Samal on Tuesday targeted the previous BJD government.

The senior saffron party leader questioned the action of the previous government concerning the ongoing chit fund paper controversy. He asserted that no documents have yet been retrieved regarding the matter. 

Despite this, Samal reassured the investors that the process to refund the chit fund money is currently underway, in accordance with their commitment.

‘Retrieval of Chit Fund Documents Underway’

Samal conveyed that the retrieval of chit fund documents is actively underway and that policy decisions will be made once this task is complete. He pointed out about these documents' transfer issues even prior to the BJP's ascension to power. The Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) was notably called in to stop any further unauthorised processes.

He affirmed the government's ongoing efforts to repay the chit fund money, with the objective of compensating all 40 lakh affected investors.

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"The day our government came to power, effort was made within 24 hours to return the chit fund money to the affected victims. Chit fund money will be returned to all the victims. Question should be asked to the previous government about where they have kept all the chit fund documents. They should provide all the necessary documents so that the poor people will be benefitted," said Samal.

"We are looking forward for all the documents. After retrieving all the documents, the chit fund money will be returned to all the affected investors. We have mentioned about it in our election manifesto and it will be definitely fulfilled. The process in this regard is currently underway and the chit fund money will be returned to all the 40 lakh affected victims once we retrieve the documents," said Samal.

Ruling Party Should Unearth Missing Documents: BJD 

In response, Opposition BJD indicated about BJP's nearly one-year tenure in governance, stating that it is the ruling party's obligation to unearth the missing documents.

"Let them (BJP) trace the documents and take necessary actions. If you are blaming the previous government for everything, why did you come to power? It's not good to always shriek away from responsibilities. They are going to complete one year of governance on June 12. Let them answer about the fulfilment of their various promises. Subsequently, we will come up with our questions to them," said BJD leader, Arun Sahoo.