The Biju Janata Dal (BJD) in Odisha has cautioned the BJP that it won't be successful in making any dent in the chief minister’s image by using central agencies such as the CBI and the Enforcement Directorate (ED).
The ruling party, which has been in power in Odisha for the past 22 years, has also made it clear that Odisha is not like Bengal or Maharashtra where the BJP got mileage by using the central agencies against ruling party leaders. The central ministers should respect the spirit of federalism, BJD leaders said.
BJD’s reaction came just a day after Union minister of state for tribal affairs and jal shakti Bishweswar Tudu on Saturday threatened that the central agencies, including the CBI and the ED, would be back in Odisha, make raids and expedite their investigation into different issues in the state.
The minister’s statement has come at a time when the BJP is making efforts to improve its base in Odisha and make Union home minister Amit Shah’s call in 2019 to win 120 Assembly seats out of 147 a reality.
Now the newly appointed pravari (in-charge) for Odisha and an aide of Shah, Sunil Bansal, and his team are preparing a roadmap to give it a real shape.
Bansal had visited the state last week and given a direction to ensure that the three-day training camp for the BJP functionaries from September 13 in Puri be a success. BJP president J.P. Nadda is scheduled to visit the state on September 29.
Union minister Tudu made the statement while on a tour to his home district Mayurbhanj on Saturday. He pointed out that as the BJD government has been in power for the past 22 years, the corruption level has reached its peak.
Confirming this to The Telegraph, Tudu said: “The corruption level is going up in the state. It’s beyond tolerable. The central agencies are doing their duties. They have a procedure and they would follow it. Besides corruption, the crime level has also gone up in the state.”
“There is a need for central agencies to do their job to curb corruption. There are many scams that have been reported over the years. The central agencies will do their duty notwithstanding the political affiliation,” Tudu said.
On Saturday, the Union minister of state for home affairs, Nityanand Rai, alleged that the benefits of central schemes were not reaching the common people in Odisha and was critical of the state government’s functioning.
The CBI is already investigating a multi-crore chit fund scam in Odisha. Two senior BJD leaders Pravat Ranjan Biswal and Pravat Tripathy were earlier arrested. Following the incidents, the party denied them tickets in 2019 but gave party tickets to their sons, who are now MLAs.
The ED also recently attached the properties of Biswal. Besides Biswal and Tripathy, a few other leaders were also quizzed, arrested and later released on bail like the duo.
On the issue of Tudu’s threat, BJD senior leader and minister Samir Ranjan Dash told this newspaper: “They won’t gain any mileage like in Bengal and Maharashtra by engaging the central agencies. Odisha is different from other states. Prior to the 2014 and 2019 elections, the BJP had resorted to such tactics. The CBI and the ED made raids on the houses of BJD leaders. Even one of the employees of Naveen Nivas, Saroj Sahu, was picked up by the CBI and was interrogated. But what they had gained? Nothing. Naveen’s popularity remained intact.”
Senior BJD MLA Sashi Bhusan Behera said: “The central ministers should work in the spirit of federalism. The central agencies should not be used as weapons. Today, the BJP is in power and tomorrow any other party can come to power. But the agencies should act independently and in a fair manner.”
