The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) lashed out at the Odisha government alleging a major scam in the much-publicised LAccMI bus service.
The BJP demanded an investigation by Lokpal and the Enforcement Directorate into the alleged scam.
Addressing a presser at the party office in Bhubaneswar, BJP spokesperson Anil Biswal said, "LAccMI is a huge scam. Since the scheme was launched, the state government has been doing massive publicity.
On November 9, 2023, the Commerce and Transport Department provided Rs 260 crore to the OSRTC to procure buses. To date, the state government has given around Rs 1000 crore to the OSRTC to purchase buses.”
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He pointed out, "But a private company has been made the owner of the buses. The Odisha government should be the owner of 1745 buses which were purchased for LAccMI. However, these buses were handed over to a private company based outside the state. All this has been done to serve whose interests?”
Demanding a clarification on the issue from the state government, the BJP leader said that if the government bears all costs, why the private company should charge Rs 5 from commuters.
“Hence, it is a big scam which needs to be exposed. The Lokpal and the Enforcement Directorate should intervene,’ Biswal observed.
No comments were received from the concerned authorities or the BJD.