Bhubaneswar: Challenging the legality of the Biju Yuva Vahini formed by the State government, Yuva Morcha, the youth wing of BJP, has filed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) in the Orissa High Court.
Following the PIL, the HC bench comprising Chief Justice KS Jhaveri and Justice KR Mohapatra sought a reply from the State government and fixed the date of hearing on January 7.
Commenting on the development, BJP spokesperson Pitambar Acharya said, "With the formation of the Biju Yuva Vahini, the State has used Rs 450 crore of the exchequer for various work of the party. We have apprised the court about the same in the PIL."
It is pertinent to mention that the State had decided to form the Biju Yuva Vahini in March this year claiming to nurture leadership, volunteerism and healthy living among youth.
As per reports, youths in the age group of 15 to 35 have been inducted as members of the Yuva Vahini.
On September 6, the CAG had written to the State government’s Sports and Youth Services department seeking various details on the Biju Yuva Vahini programme.
In the letter, the CAG had sought several details like the objective of the programme, sources of funds for the scheme, its annual budget, current status of expenditure allocation, executing agency of the programme, information on beneficiaries and steps taken on ensuring transparency.
Earlier, Opposition had slammed the State government alleging that members of the Yuva Vahini were involved in hooliganism.