Bhubaneswar: Opposition parties including the BJP and the Congress on Thursday created ruckus in Odisha Assembly and targeted the State Tourism and Culture Minister, Jyoti Prakash Panigrahi for allegedly taking his personal guests to attend the ‘Odisha Tourism Road Show at Hyderabad’ on government expenses.
The road show was held on October 4, 2019 and the two female guests, who accompanied the minister, stayed at a five star hotel. Accusing the minister of misutilising government funds, the opposition parties sought a clarification from Panigrahi on the issue. The issue was raised in the Assembly by Leader of Opposition, Pradipta Kumar Naik.
“I had raised the issue and those who accompanied the minister cannot spend government money. Under which circumstances the State government approved their expenses. The minister needs to clarify the matter before the House,” said Naik.
Terming Panigrahi's alleged activities as "unacceptable", Congress MLA Santosh Singh Saluja said, "Self-styled Godman Sarathi alias Santosh Raul had gone to Hyderabad with a medical student and was sent to jail. Therefore Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik should immediately dismiss the concerned minister,” said Saluja.
Meanwhile, some pictures and videos of Panigrahi’s Hyderabad tour have reportedly gone viral on social media. One can easily spot the minister along with the woman, who accompanied him to Hyderabad in the viral video. It is also being said that the woman was spotted moving with the minister several times in the past as well.
Later addressing a presser, BJP also slammed the ruling-BJD over the misconduct of the concerned minister. The saffron party’s vice-president Samir Mohanty questioned, “Who are the two female guests who accompanied the minister on an official tour and what relation they have with State Tourism department. Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik or the Tourism department should clarify.”
Responding to the allegations of the opposition parties, Panigrahi said, “Not a single penny has been spent from the government exchequer and OTDC is open for all for bookings. I have not violated any law.”
(With Agency Inputs)