Srikant, Niranjan engage in verbal duel over mining scam

Bhubaneswar: Expressing caustic remarks about some of his partymen, senior Congress leader and former Union Minister Srikant Jena today said mine looters exist in all political parties including his party. However, he refrained from naming anyone.

“Because of such mine looters, Congress is unable to hold ground in the State,” Jena alleged.
He claimed mining scam worth more than Rs 2 lakh occurred in the State in the past 15 years.
The former Union Minister also demanded that the Odisha government should take charge of all the mines in the State.

Countering Jena, another senior Congress leader and former PCC chief Niranjan Patnaik questioned, “Why did Jena not ask for a CBI probe into the mining scam that took place between 2000 and 2011 when he was a Union Minister?”

Taking a jibe at Jena, Patnaik said, “Two kinds of mine looters exist. One, who does explorations illegally and two, those who act as mafia without owning mines. Moreover, He (Jena) must be having the calculations as to how many mine looters exist in which party,” Patnaik stated.