BHUBANESWAR: The Archana Nag sex and extortion scandal sparked off a furore in the Assembly on Monday with Opposition BJP and Congress targeting the state government for trying to hush up the case.
Both the Opposition parties demanded the resignation of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik over the issue.
The Opposition members staged a walkout from the house expressing their dissatisfaction over the reply given by the minister of state for home Tushar Kanti Behera on an adjournment motion brought by them over the issue.
However, refuting the allegations as baseless, the minister said the state government has never protected criminals. He said Archana and her husband Jagabandhu Chand have already been arrested in two cases lodged in this regard.
Behera said the chief minister has always emphasised the rule of law. “Whoever may be the criminal, or how powerful he or she may be, action has been taken against him or her by this government as per law,” he said. Outside the House, Opposition chief whip Mohan Majhi said that the chief minister’s silence on the issue has created suspicion. Alleging that ministers, BJD MLAs and government officials are involved in the case which is being investigated by the Enforcement Department now, Majhi said photographs of 64 persons have been traced from the blackmailer’s mail ID.
The BJP leader alleged that five dairies and four laptops containing data have also been seized, but efforts have been made by the state government to protect the accused. He demanded the chief minister should give a statement on the scandal in the Assembly. Congress member Narasingh Mishra also targeted the chief minister over the latter’s silence on the issue and wanted to know why police have not yet interrogated any bigwig involved in the sensational case. Alleging that efforts are on to hush up the case to protect high-profile people, Mishra demanded a clarification from the chief minister in this regard.
Noisy scenes over primary school teachers’ stir
Bhubaneswar: Assembly Speaker Bikram Keshari Arukha on Monday directed the state government to look into the demands of school teachers who are staging a protest in the state capital. The Assembly witnessed noisy scenes during the question hour with BJP and Congress members rushing into the well of the house shouting slogans. Amid uproarious scenes, the Speaker adjourned the House till 11.30 am and subsequently gave the ruling regarding the teachers’ issue. The agitation by the primary teachers of Class I to VIII over their three-point charter of demands entered the second day on Monday.