The fiery reactions to the raids by the CBI and the State Vigilance from the political circles in Odisha have given credence to the allegations that the probe agencies, whether governed by the State or the Centre, are not neutral and their activities are politically-oriented.
Blaming the CBI, which arrested two TMC MPs in the Rose Valley chit fund scam for acting as a tool in the hand of the Central Government, TMC activists from West Bengal rushed to Odisha and gheraoed the CBI office in Bhubaneswar. They alleged that the CBI actions were fallout of the firm protests to demonetization by TMC Government of Mamata Banerjee. They cried foul against PM Narendra Modi for unleashing a political vendetta against the TMC MPs.
The BJD kept mum and was watching the incident with fingers crossed, but suddenly it trained its guns against the CBI when raids were conducted at the houses of BJD MP of Baleswar Rabindra Jena, Cuttack-Choudwar MlA Pravat Biswal and Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik’s close aide and Navin Niwas staffer Saroj Sahu. Anticipating that the more raids could be in store, the BJD was prompt in breaking its silence, charging that the BJP was trying to gain political mileage in the panchayat elections in February by tarnishing the party leaders’ image as the CBI is doing everything at the behest of the BJP-led Central Government. The BJD activists soon staged protests at the CBI office. Curiously, while BJD and TMC were blaming the Centre for the CBI actions, the State BJP defended the probe agency rubbishing any interference in the work of the CBI. Even the State BJP demanded that like the TMC case, the CBI too should arrest the tainted BJD leaders instead of simply carrying out raids.
However, close on the heels of the CBI raids, when Vigilance raided a gas agency at Talcher owned by the brother of Union Petroleum Minister and Odisha BJP’s poster boy Dharmendra Pradhan, BJP sharply reacted to it and said it was a vengeful act against the Union Minister by the State Government since BJD was scared of the CBI. The State BJP leaders clarified that Pradhan as such did not have any hand in the CBI raids against the BJD leaders and targeting him by using the Vigilance, the State Government was only showing its skin. BJP leader Pruthiraj Harichandan recalled the Vigilance crackdown against former DGP Prakash Mishra and how the State Government had drawn flak from the Odisha High Court in the case.
Given the developments, one wonders why leaders across party line should be so wary of the actions either of the CBI or the Vigilance. If things are fair, the probe agencies should be allowed to continue their work without an iota of remonstrance, even if the image of a highly influential political figure is in question.