Bhubaneswar: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Thursday demanded the resignation of Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik over the recent seizure of Rs 351 crore cash from liquor traders in the state by the Income Tax (I-T) department.
Demanding a clarification from the Biju Janata Dal (BJD), Odisha BJP state unit president Manmohan Samal said the BJD must clarify the ownership of the seized cash.
“It is impossible to hoard such a huge amount of cash in one place without the help of the state government. Does the recovered money belong to the traders or is it the BJD’s party fund?” The CM should resign from his position on moral grounds as his government failed to check the flourishing country-liquor trade in Western Odisha. We are also tempted to doubt that the ruling Biju Janata Dal extended brazen patronisation to the mushrooming country-liquor manufacturing units and selling points,” said.
The BJP state chief observed he “strongly” suspected that the cash belonged to the BJD and it would have been used in the next elections to influence the voters. “Had the Economic Offence Wing (EOW) of the Crime Branch and the state vigilance department acted and caught these liquor traders, Income Tax raids would not have been required,” quipped.
The BJD responded to Samal’s allegations by saying the latter was levelling allegations only for the sake of it.
“Nobody has guts to bring corruption charges against CM Naveen Patnaik who is known for his transparency and honesty. If the Opposition levels charge only for the sake of it, then we do not have anything to say. The BJP does not have any proof,” said BJD vice-president Prasanna Acharya.
Ever since the cash recoveries were made, the BJP has been questioning CM Naveen Patnaik’s silence on the matter.
“The CM, who always says the law will take its own course, is surprisingly silent on this cash seizure case. Why is he silent? Does he fear the probe will expose a link between Naveen Niwas and the liquor mafias?” BJP spokesperson Anil Biswal asked.
