What is the hope of the common man for justice in the chit fund and mining scams in Odisha after the statement of Union Tribal Affair Minister and sole BJP lok Sabha member from Odisha Jual Oram on the slowed-down CBI probe and the Congress’ reaction over the issueIJ
The hope of the gullible investors duped by chit fund firms to get their money back has got dimmer and the fact that the BJP, BJD and Congress are birds of same feathers has come to the fore.
Oram’s statement has pointed to the Centres’s kid-glove approach with Odisha’s BJD Government on chit fund and mining scams. It has also raised a finger at the neutrality of the CBI’s action. Oram later clarified that the NDA Government had not influenced the CBI in the Odisha scams as did the UPA. His party colleague Suresh Pujari came to Oram’s rescue by saying that the CBI is in action and the probe is fair which would end at appropriate time. But the whole issue has given credence to the allegations often made against the CBI that it can be a puppet in the hand of the Central Government.
The Press conference of Jairam Ramesh and OPCC chief Prasad Harichandan in Delhi targeting the BJP at the Centre and the BJD in Odisha speaks volume about the Congress’s ambivalence on the scams in Odisha. For, during the two consecutive terms of the Congress Government at the Centre, the scams occurred in Odisha and assumed serious proportions. Yet, the Manmohan Singh Government had not done anything substantial to put a break on the scamsters. It did not order a CBI probe into the scams instantly despite repeated demand of the State Congress unit and even the opposition BJP.
In case of either party, the public of Odisha has got the point that none of them by heart wants corruption gets rooted out and the scamsters are brought to book. That is why instead of taking a strong step to nail the culprits, the parties are rather very casual about it.
The Modi Government’s soft-paddling of the two mega scams in Odisha has been due to the support it wants to get from the BJD in the Rajya Sabha. The State Congress has been alleging this ever since the CBI probe has slowed down. But then, should the BJP, which came to power with a massive mandate, compromise with its avowed principles against scams for the sake of sustenanceIJ The people of the country had been fed up with the Congress-led UPA Government due to corruption and misgovernance. The sluggishness of the CBI on chit fund and mining scams to shield the Naveen Patnaik Government proves that both the UPA and the NDA for their vested interests have forged deals with Patnaik and let the corrupt off the hook.
The BJD has reacted to the controversial statement of Oram with a calibrated approach. The party attacked the BJP for giving different versions on CBI progress for political mileage. BJD spokesperson Pratap Deb dubbed Oram’s view as completely immature while senior BJD leader Amar Satpathy said his Government is not averse to a Supreme Court-monitored CBI probe into the mining and chit fund scams if the court so desires.