Bhubaneswar: The Congress on Wednesday sought a clarification from chief minister Naveen Patnaik on the statements given by some senior ministers on morality in the context of minister Sanjay Dasburma's alleged links with a chit fund company.
Raising the issue in the State Assembly, senior Congress leader and leader of the opposition Narasingh Mishra said the statements given by some BJD leaders, including a senior minister, MPs and MLAs on Sanjay Dasburma clearly indicate that the senior party leaders and ministers have lost faith in the government.
“Since this is a sensitive issue, the chief minister should give a clarification on the matter in the House,” Mishra said and requested the Speaker to allow a discussion on this issue in the House.
But the Speaker did not allow any clarification from the chief minister in this regard.
Briefing media persons later, Mishra said the Congress had given an adjournment motion for discussion on this matter which was disallowed by the Speaker.
“Had the matter come up for discussion, doubts would have been cleared on whether the allegations brought against the chief minister and Dasburma were true or false. I think the chief minister is reluctant as he feels he is guilty and is afraid of the discussion which might prove his guilt," he said.
Reacting to Mishra’s statement, government chief whip Ananta Das said the Congress mind its own party affairs instead of pointing fingers at the BJD.
Giving an instance of the intra-party feud in the Congress, Das said while the Congress leader Lalatendu Bidyadhar Mahapatra had informed the media yesterday about the resignation of Odisha Youth Congress president Rajat Choudhury, the latter said he had not resigned.
“From this, you can know the state of affairs and the intention of the Opposition. Taking note of this, the chief minister has asked the party men not to get carried away by the allegations of the Opposition against the ruling party and stop giving statements to the media tarnishing the party's image in the process. By issuing the whip, the chief minister has done nothing wrong. These ruling party leaders and ministers have given their statements outside the Assembly. Why should the chief minister give a clarification on their statements in the Assembly?” Das asked.
On the other hand, senior BJD leader and minister Damodar Rout expressed resentment over the refusal of the Speaker to allow him to make a statement in the House today.
The incident took place when leader of the Opposition Narasingh Mishra was giving his statement in the Assembly on the chit fund issue with special mention of Sanjay Dasburma.
Though Rout sought permission from the Speaker to give a reply to the statement of Mishra, the latter did not allow him.
Talking to the media persons later, Rout said the sovereignty of the Speaker cannot be challenged. “May be it is the misfortune of a person who did not get the opportunity to speak,” he pointed out.