Post News Network
Bhubaneswar: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Thursday intensified its attack on the ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD) over the chit fund issue and alleged that law minister Arun Kumar Sahoo had crowned a youth icon at a programme sponsored by a chit fund firm.
“BJD ministers and leaders have taken the help from chit fund firms for their personal benefit. Many BJD leaders, including the law minister, attended a function organised June 20, 2011, where Arun Sahoo gave away the Youth Icon award sponsored by a chit fund firm,” BJP vice president Sameer Mohanty said here.
The leaders who attended the function include Surya Narayan Patro, Prabhat Tripathy, Sameer Das and Ramesh Chandra Chyau Patnaik, he alleged.
“Why did the BJD leaders attend the programme? Is this not enough to prove that they promoted the companies?” Mohanty asked.
The BJP leader asked Sahu whether the money spent on the programme was not people’s hard-earned money. He also demanded that the minister resign from his post on moral grounds.
The attack boomeranged with the BJD retaliating by showing photos of LK Advani and Smriti Irani attending the event.
“The BJP is alleging that BJD leaders have attended the event and also demanding the resignation of the law minister. However, senior BJP leader and present Union minister Dharmendra Pradhan also shared the dais with Sahoo at that event. Besides, senior BJP leaders Irani, Advani, KV Singhdeo and Manmohan Samal also attended the programme,” BJD spokesperson Pratap
Jena said.
The BJP is not talking about its own leaders but demanding the resignation of the BJD minister, Jena said. “The people of the state will decide how justified this is,” Jena said. “Will the BJP demand the resignation of its own leaders?” he asked.