Bhubaneswar: Hours after the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) arrested BJD MLA Pravat Biswal, the ruling party in the state accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government at the Centre of “using” the agency as a tool to pursue “political vendetta” and achieve its “political goal.”
Soon after reports of Biswal’s arrest spread, Chief Minister and BJD president Naveen Patnaik convened a high-level meeting at his residence to discuss the political fallout of the development. Rajya Sabha MP Pratap Deb, BJD vice-president Debi Mishra, Finance Minister Sasibhushan Behera, MLAs Atanu Sabyasachi Nayak, Sanjay Das Burma and Pranab Prakash Das were among the leaders who attended the meeting.
The party, which had launched a state-wide agitation against NDA government at the Centre Monday over fuel price hike, questioned the timing of the arrest.
The party stood firmly behind the legislator and alleged that the move of the investigating agency is “politically motivated.”
“Biswal’s arrest appears to be politically motivated. The CBI has suddenly woken up just after BJP chief Amit Shah publicly announced to send all BJD leaders to jail. It could be a game plan of the party whose national chief was also claiming to win 120 seats in the next Assembly elections,” BJD spokesman and Rajya Sabha MP PK Deb said.
“Why the CBI did not arrest Biswal earlier though he was interrogated at least 17 times in the past?” he said. Deb alleged that Biswal’s arrest was made under the pressure of the BJP and that if required the BJD would hit the streets or may also take a legal route. “If Biswal is guilty, he must be brought under the law. But the way he was arrested now raises doubts. The arrest at this juncture when the BJD is fighting against fuel price hike raises doubts,” BJD vice-president and Rajya Sabha MP Prasanna Acharya said. “Our party is in favour of an impartial probe into the scam but it appears that the Centre is misusing the CBI and agencies like the Enforcement Directorate, but the BJD will fight it out politically,” he said.
The regional party, which had earlier suspended Banki MLA Pravat Tripathy and Mayurbhanj MP Ramchandra Hansdah after their arrest by the CBI for alleged links with chit fund companies, has decided to wait and watch what the CBI has up its sleeves against Biswal before taking any action. Congress leader Niranjan Patnaik also questioned the timing of the arrest and said it raises doubts about the misuse of CBI by the BJP. “There was no problem if the BJD MLA was arrested over his alleged involvement in the scam, but wonder why the CBI took so long to nab Biswal,” he said.
However, BJP leader KV Singh Deo ruled out any political conspiracy behind Biswal’s arrest. Alleging that the BJD government is with the culprits instead of being with the ponzi scam victims, Singh Deo said when CBI does not act, the BJD claims that the probe process is slow and when it acts, the ruling party promptly raises such baseless allegations.
Post News Network
