Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) Director Ranjit Sinha on Monday met Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, raising many questions about the purpose of the meeting.Coming out of the 10-minute meeting, Sinha declined to reveal what transpired between him and Patnaik. “It was a courtesy call,” was all he told the waiting mediapersons.
Sinha’s single-line sentence did not answer any question whether he met Patnaik over the mining scam or the chit fund scam or the coal scam or on any other issue. Patnaik’s role is under the scanner in at least in two cases, his 2005 letter to the Coal Ministry recommending the allocation of the Talabira II coal block to the Aditya Birla group after the proposal was rejected by the screening committee and the recommendation in 2002 making a case for allocation of a coal block earlier given to another company.
Sinha’s meeting with the Chief Minister raises speculations as it comes at a time when the Supreme Court is hearing two PIls demanding CBI probe into the mining and chit fund scams.
Both the Naveen Patnaik Government in the State and the UPA Government at the Centre have apparently decided not to hand over the probe to the CBI.
The charge is corroborated by the fact that the Central Government in an affidavit filed in the apex court recently cited the Odisha Government’s argument to make a case for not handing over the investigation to the CBI.
The State Government has argued that since the State Vigilance has already made ‘substantial’ progress in the investigation, lodged several cases and booked many people, there is ‘no need’ for a CBI probe.
This being the backdrop, it is also hard to speculate what exact purpose was behind the meeting between Sinha and the Chief Minister. The Supreme Court has not yet taken a call on the CBI probe too.
But Sinha, who is ostensibly here to attend a marriage, is staying in the Raj Bhavan. Hence, his meeting with Patnaik appeared to be an official visit.
Many argue that it cannot be a ‘courtesy call’ because it is not usual for a CBI Director to meet a Chief Minister, considering that there are speculations that Patnaik may have to face a CBI inquiry into the scams.