Bhubaneswar: After Congress, now the BJP in the State has got some of its leaders to raise their voice against the ‘go-slow’ attitude of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in the multi thousand crore chit fund scam probe.
Joining the chorus of senior party leader Bijoy Mohapatra over the issue, former BJP president KV Singhdeo on Tuesday alleged that the central agency has slowed down the investigation process in the case.
But what has created ripples in the saffron party is that the matter has ‘united’ a few senior leaders, including Union minister Jual Oram, while the party’s state president Basant Panda is not on the same page on the issue.
While Singhdeo has ‘openly’ supported the allegations leveled by Mohapatra, Oram had given a statement in similar vein on January 1 accusing the CBI in the matter.
“Since Bijoy babu has raised the issue, he must be having some facts and based on which he has brought the allegations against the CBI. Not only he, but the people of Odisha have observed that the CBI’s probe in the chit find scam is not going the way it should,” Singhdeo said.
Mohapatra on the other hand, had accused leaders of the ruling BJD of patronizing Ponzi firms.
“Two years have passed and the CBI has slept over the matter in Odisha. In fact, it appears to be protecting the politicians who had patronised the fraudulent Ponzi firms and still far from proceeding on the money trail,” he had stated.
Launching a blistering attack on the CBI, Bijoy Mohapatra had said notices to a ruling BJD leader after two years was only meant to protect him and hoodwink people. He charged that the CBI had merely accepted the reports of the state Crime Branch (CB), which had investigated the case earlier.
Speaking on the issue, Oram had targeted the BJD in January.
“The Centre has not taken strong action against the State government in chit fund scam and mining scam cases and it must be thankful to the Centre for this….. The CBI’s probe is going at snail’s pace. I feel the progress is not up to the mark and everybody knows this,” Oram had stated.
Now that the matter has already got some limelight, other leaders of the party are not daring to open up fearing any such step may further widen the rift within.