Subhas Chandra Pattanayak
Former secretary of National Union of Journalists, India, Sri Balbir Punj, who presently represents Orissa in the Rajyasabha, has demanded an inquiry by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) into the massive mining scam perpetrated and going on in Orissa under the reign of Navin Patnaik.
Punj, in his spot study of the scam in Keonjhar district, had led a team of BJP leaders that comprised also his colleague in Parliament, Sri Chandan Mitra, who like him is a Journalist turned politician with right wing attire.
The team made a spot estimation of loot of ores at Kashia, Chormaldar, Loidapada and Regudi where ESSEL, OMC and RBTL are nefariously involved and came out with facts too revealing to be refuted.
Not the Vigilance police that works under Navin Patnaik, but the CBI that runs not under Navin Patnaik should be asked to investigate so that the truth of loot may not be stopped from coming out, declared the BJP leaders.
But to Navin Patnaik, this is nothing but a political notoriety resorted to by BJP.
Punj and Mitra have gone to the spot and have made the allegation on the basis of what they have seen on the spot. Chief Minister Navin Patnaik has never visited the spot so far.
He obviously uses the State Vigilance in matter of the loot. The loot is so very discernible that the Vigilance Police is not able to say that there is no loot.
Now that admittedly there is loot, Navin should confess that in his regime the loot has occurred. But he has not done it so far.
As time passes, he looks murkier.
If he is to depend upon hearsay about the occurrence and / or non-occurrence of the loot, why should he not depend upon the CBI than the State Vigilance to know what really has happened?
The matter is so critical but delicate, even if the State Vigilance Police would act honestly and bring out details of the loot and the looters, people would sure look at that askance.
Therefore it is true that the Chief Minister by not accepting the demands for the inquiry by CBI, is dragging the State Vigilance to a state of forfeiture of its credibility.
Will the CM amend himself and entrust the investigation to CBI as demanded by Punj and Mitra?