Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) president Jayadev Jena on Tuesday alleged that the State Government is shielding the BJD Mayor and corporators of the Cuttack Municipal Corporation (CMC) and party workers involved in the loot of relief materials in Cuttack by not invoking the Essential Services Maintenance Act (ESMA) against them.
The Government had announced that anybody found involved in theft of relief materials would be immediately booked under the ESMA, Jena pointed out. Some BJD corporators and workers had forcibly taken away relief materials from the CMC office on October 13, the day after the Phailin. The looters returned the relief materials after the hullabaloo made over it.
Hence, it’s amply clear that they are involved in the scam and should be immediately arrested under the ESMA, Jena thundered. And by showing leniency towards the CMC Mayor, BJD corporators and workers, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik is himself violating the Government order, he said.