There seems to be a serious competition between the State’s two major Opposition parties, the Congress and the BJP, over the chit fund scams in the State.
Both the parties are out to champion the cause of the depositors, obviously to score over the ruling BJD, which is busy holding demonstrations over the demand for Special Category State status to Odisha.
The Opposition parties have taken the opportunity from the situation where the ruling party is on a weak wicket. The BJD Government has utterly failed to secure investments made by people, mostly villagers, and not been able to give assurance to the depositors.
Unlike its West Bengal counterpart, the Odisha Government has not created a corpus fund to return money to hapless depositors.It is the Congress which first announced holding of a State-wide agitation in all district headquarters demanding protection of depositors’ interests. The party will submit memoranda in this regard to the Governor through district Collectors. The party will hold its demonstrations on Wednesday.
Within less than twenty-four hours of PCC president Jayadev Jena’s announcement of the Congress programme, BJP State president KV Singh Deo at a public meeting at Karanjia in Mayurbhanj district said his party would stage demonstrations across the State from June 4 to 8 over the chit fund issues.
So, the BJP’s agitation is not only being held a day before the Congress’ demonstration but will continue for three more days after the rival opposition party’ programme culminates.
In fact, both Congress and BJP have realised that the chit fund scams are the only issue which can nail the BJD and Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik. Both the Opposition parties have rejected the Government’s decision for a Judicial Commission and demanded a more effective and faster inquiry into the chit fund scams under monitoring of legal court. They too demand removal of the Ministers allegedly involved in these scams.
Singh Deo has alleged that about half a dozen of Ministers are suspected to have links with the fraud chit fund companies and, therefore, they should be dropped and the Chief Minister himself should be held responsible for all that has happened.