Orissa chit fund scam probe: BJP using CBI to settle old scores, says BJD

However, Leader of Opposition in Assembly Narasingha Mishra of the Congress mocked the BJD, saying the party was seeing designs after issuing statements that it welcomed the CBI probe. “They should know that the Centre has not ordered the probe. The SC has ordered it and if necessary, the court would monitor it. BJD is scared as the taint of the scam has reached Naveen Patnaik. He should resign,” said Mishra.

Senior Congress leader Prasad Harichandan said interrogation of Sahu has meant Naveen’s coming under CBI scanner. “In case of MPs and MLAs who were arrested, Naveen could get away saying it was their personal indiscretion and party has nothing to do with it. But in case of Sahu, it is no longer a personal matter for the chief minister,” he said.

BJP leader Suresh Pujari, too, slammed the BJD, saying the party was now ‘delirious’. “Our party has nothing to do with it. But we are happy with the progress of the probe. BJD should pay for its crimes,” he said. Pujari wondered how state police did not find any evidence of involvement of politicians in the scam, while CBI is stumbling on new facts everyday.

Though Sahu is not the first BJD leader to come under the CBI scanner, his interrogation has set alarm bells ringing in the party. Starting off as a DTP operator in 1998, Sahu came to wield immense influence in the BJD within a decade of joining the party, thanks to his proximity to Naveen.

He handled everything from doling out party tickets to issuing statements on the CM’s behalf of Naveen. Though no one knows about his source of income, Sahu reportedly spent Rs 55 lakh to buy a two-storey building near Bhubaneswar’s Airport area. CBI officials who questioned Sahu on Saturday, said they have found evidence of huge transaction from his bank accounts to the accounts of BJD MPs and MLAs. “We suspect Sahu received money from chitfund firms through broker Subhankar Nayak,” said a CBI officer, adding that Sahu would be called for questioning again.