Congress Chief Whip Tara Prasad Bahinipati on Friday demanded a CBI probe into the allegations of fixing in the selection of ‘Daru’ (holy logs for construction of idols of the Puri Jagannath Temple for Nabakalebar).
Alleging that some influential people are involved in the matter, Bahinipati said the truth would be unearthed once the Central investigating agency conducts an investigation. “Jagannath lovers have been hurt due to the recent allegations of irregularities in ‘Daru’ selection. The State Government should order a CBI probe as many influential people including a former Minister and bureaucrats are involved in it,” he added.
Similarly, BJP MLA KV Singh Deo said there is no guarantee that an investigation would yield any result as past record shows reports of the judicial probes ordered by the State Government have not been made public. Refuting the allegations, Law Minister Pratap Jena said the State Government had ordered an inquiry and the process has begun.
“This allegation is only a political ploy to malign the image of BJD. If there was an attempt to hide anything we would not have ordered for an inquiry and begin process to take action against those who are involved in it,” said Jena.