Mediapersons here were up in arms after currency notes worth Rs200 were found in each kit given to them during a Press conference addressed by Puri MP Pinaki Mishra on Wednesday.
Enraged scribes placed the notes on the dais and left the Press conference midway.later, they lodged an FIR against the MP at the Sea Beach police station.Mishra, who was addressing the reporters as the Chairperson of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Urban Development, expressed ignorance about how the currency notes got into the folders given to mediapersons and sought to lay the balme on the authorities of UCO Bank who had organised the event.
“I will talk to the bank authorities and ask for the strongest possible action against whosoever has done it. Heads must roll for this attempt to lower the dignity of the fourth estate,” he said.Mishra and Puri MlA Maheswar Mohanty pleaded with the mediapersons not to leave, but the latter did not respond.
All political parties, including the ruling BJD, have condemned the act and have demanded action against the culprits. But the opposition parties sought to blame the BJD for the attempt to “bribe” the journalists.“The incident is entirely in tune with the political culture of the ruling party, which has sought to use money power in everything it does,” said leader of Opposition Narasingha Mishra.
Senior BJP leader Suresh Pujari said it was a brazen attempt to curry favour with the fourth estate, while demanding action against the culprits. BJD spokesperson Samir Dash, however, sought to absolve his party of wrongdoing and called for a thorough investigation to fix responsibility for the act.