BHUBANESWAR: Questions and counter questions have vitiated the election scenario in Odisha as both BJD and BJP continue to level allegations of corruption and scandals against each others’ key campaigners in the run-up to the polls.Even as Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas Dharmendra Pradhan asked three questions to Chief Minister and BJD supremo Naveen Patnaik on coal block allocation scam, spokespersons of the regional outfit shot off nine posers to Pradhan over his alleged links with key accused in Vyapam scam, allocation of petrol pump to relatives of gangster Tito and murder of BJD councillor of Chhatrapur municipality Laxmidatt Pradhan.
Alleging that the accused in Vyapam scam had given flight tickets to the Union Minister and the issue was raised in Parliament demanding his resignation, BJD spokespersons Sasmit Patra, Sulochana Das and Lenin Mohanty said Pradhan is yet to respond to the charges. Stating that two petrol pumps were given to relatives of gangster Tito, BJD asked what happened to the CBI probe ordered into the irregularity.
Referring to the allegation of black marketing of LPG cylinders by the Union Minister’s brother, the BJD spokespersons asked why no inquiry has so far been ordered by the Petrol and Natural Gas Ministry into the scam. “This shows that the minister is providing protection and conniving with his brother for black marketing of LPG cylinders,” they said.
The BJD spokespersons referred to the attack on the brother of State Minister Sushant Singh allegedly by BJP workers during the by-election to Bijepur Assembly seat last year in which a worker of the regional party was killed. They also referred to the attempt to attack the Chief Minister at a rally during the by-poll. “The Union Minister should reply what role he had in these two incidents,” they added.
The regional outfit also raised the incident in which a petrol pump owner in Bijepur was allegedly threatened by the Union Minister and his alleged links with D brothers and asked him to reply to these questions. He (Pradhan) has much to answer as far as Vyapam scam in Madhya Pradesh is concerned. Let him first answer long pending questions before they attempt to tarnish Naveen Patnaik’s image.
Earlier, hitting out at the Chief Minister, Pradhan had said that people of Odisha want to know about Naveen’s role in the coal block allocation scam. Asking three questions to the Chief Minister, Pradhan wanted him to clarify whether the CBI interrogated him in the case.
“Who is GD Daga and how coal blocks were allocated to a company much before it was registered? The Chief Minister should should clarify whether CBI had interrogated him and why he has not mentioned this case in the affidavits filed by him during nomination for the upcoming elections?” Pradhan said. The Union Minister, however, dismissed all the charges raised against him by the ruling BJD as false, malicious and baseless.