leader of Opposition (loP) Narasingha Mishra on Wednesday sought to know from Speaker Niranjan Pujari whether the media reports on a CBI team’s entry into the Assembly for verification of vehicle passes is true.
“Many newspapers have carried reports that a CBI team entered the Assembly premises for verification of vehicle passes. The Chair should make it clear whether reports are true or false as it has tarnished the dignity of the House,” said Mishra.
He wanted to know if reports are not true, then why the Chair has not reacted when the CBI can’t enter the Assembly premises without the Speaker’s permission.
Stating that he has information that the CBI officer was a friend of the Security Officer, Mishra said there is nothing wrong if the officer had come in that capacity.
It was reported that a CBI team had on Tuesday visited the Assembly Secretariat to verify details about vehicle passes issued to MlAs and Ministers during 2010-2013 in connection with the chit fund scam.
The probe assumed significance as Artha Tatwa Group chief Pradip Sethy had stated that he had given many vehicles to political party leaders during the 2014 election campaigns in the State which were never returned to him.
Notably, Civil Supplies and Consumer Welfare Minister Sanjay Kumar Dasburma is already under the CBI scanner.