Berhampur (Orissa): Alleging irregularities
of around Rs three lakh crore in Orissa mining scam, the BJP
today demanded resignation of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik in
the case.
"Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik had dropped several of his
ministers in connection with alleged corruption. Now he should
step down instead of trying to defend himself in the face of
mining scam," BJP state president Jual Oram said at a meeting
of the party workers.
"The Chief Minister had dropped many ministers to show
the public that his government was corruption free but he is
not only sticking to his chair but also refusing to hand over
the mining scam to the CBI for inquiry," he said.
When states like Andhra Pradesh, Jharkhand and Karnataka
had already handed over their mining scandals to CBI, the
Orissa government has been resisting demands for probe into
mining scam by the central agency, Oram alleged.
Coming down heavily on the BJD government, the BJP leader
said that the government has failed to protect the lives of
the common people, while Maoist menace increased many fold in
the state.
As the home portfolio was held by the Chief Minister, he
himself was responsible for this and should resign from the
post, the former union minister demanded.
PTI
First Published: Saturday, January 16, 2010, 21:36