Commenting on Food Supplies and Consumer Welfare Minister Sanjya Dasburma’s alleged involvement in the chit fund scam, Odisha Jan Morcha (OJM) president and Rajya Sabha member Pyarimohan Mohapatra, who had earlier promoted Dasburama in the BJD, on Saturday said he is a small fish in the ruling party being linked in the scam.
“If Dasburma is being linked then he is a small fish. There are bigger fish in the BJD involved in this scam,” Mohapatra told reporters here.
When reporters wanted to know the present relationship between him and Dasburma, Mohaptra said, “I have no bad relationship with anybody in the BJD from my side.”
Reacting to Mohapatra’s remark, BJD spokesperson Amar Prasad Satpathy said he should name “big fishes” publicly. “He (Mohapatra) had managed the BJD for many years. He knows who are big and who are small. He should name them,” said Satpathy.
In another development, BJD MP Tathagata Satpathy on Saturday changed his ‘rats’ remark, which he had made on Friday.
“Rats are damaging food grains in a godown. They can make holes in the stored gunny bags but can’t damage the godown,” Satpathy had said on Friday in an apparent reference to Dasburma.
But on Saturday, he said, “Journalists are rats. As I am a journalist, I am also a rat.”
Notably, Amar Prasad Satpathy, when reporters wanted to know his reaction to Tathagata’s rat remark, had stated that some party leaders are airing views to gain personal scores. “The Chief Minister is examining the issue. Others who are airing views are doing so to gain personal scores only,” he had stated.
To this, Tathagata said, “I don’t play cricket. Hence, I don’t know scoring.”