Bhubaneswar, Jan 4: Congress has alleged that the Centre was “blackmailing” the Naveen Patnaik dispensation to get BJD’s support in Parliament, citing Union Minister Jual Oram’s purported comments about Odisha government being “let off” in “scams”, and sought Supreme Court-monitored probes.
Former Union Minister Jairam Ramesh demanded that the apex court monitor the CBI investigations in chit-fund and mining scams in the state, claiming that Oram’s “honest admission” in an interview makes it clear that the Centra has virtually subverted the CBI probe into the chitfund scam.
CBI had “reached the door steps” of Chief Minister Patnaik in the chit fund scam, Congress claimed and alleged that a deal was struck between the BJD supremo and Prime Minister Narendra Modi at their “secret meeting” after which the agency slowed down its probe.
To a query whether the party will move the apex court, he said it will take a call on this.
Flanked by Odisha Congress president Prasad Harichandan at a press conference, Ramesh played a recent media interview of Oram in which he purportedly said, “The central government has let the state government off in many issues including chit fund and mining scams. Had it not been the case, the CBI would have finished them off already. They should thank the Centre for it.”
Oram, however, had claimed yesterday that his statement has been misinterpreted.
He had asserted that there was no deal between BJD and BJP. “BJD is sometimes supporting us and sometimes opposing NDA government. There is absolutely no deal between the BJD and BJP as alleged by the Congress,” Oram had said.
Ramesh said the remarks of Oram, a BJP MP from the state, made it clear that the CBI, which is probing chit-fund case and not the alleged mining scam, was working as per Modi’s wishes and “no more evidence was needed” in this regard.
The Modi government had not taken any decision on the MB Shah’s commission report, which recommended a CBI probe into the mining scam, due to this, he claimed.
“CBI’s independence has been finished and it has become a political tool. We cannot rely on the government and the Supreme Court should take note of this. BJP is getting the support of BJD in the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha through blackmail. BJP and BJD have become two sides of the same coin,” he said.
Congress pegged the value of chit fund scam, in which MLAs of BJP and BJD besides a BJD MP were arrested by the CBI, at Rs 50,000 crore and illegal mining scam at Rs 3 lakh crore.
Dubbing CBI as “captive bureau of investigation”, he said Congress demands that the Centre constitute a Lokpal at the earliest and bring the agency under it.
However, Jual Oram in a statement today denied the allegations as politically motivated.
Oram said, “The allegations were false and political motivated. The Congress is trying to gain political advantage by twisting my remarks.”
The Union Minister said that the Congress leaders seem not to have carefully examined what he had said and later clarified.
“My contention was that the BJD should have thanked BJP because it did not use CBI the way Congress was using it for political gain,” he added.
Had BJP misused the CBI the way Congress led UPA had done in the past, there is no doubt the CBI would have finished the BJD government already, he said.
“I also said even though a section of people are under impression that the probe into these scams by the CBI is slow, the NDA government has never interfered into the activities of the CBI,” Oram added.
“I never questioned the integrity of the CBI. I have rather stated the CBI is an independent organisation and it is investigating into it this matter independently without pressure or influence,” Oram asserted.
