Orissa mining scam to be raised in both Houses of Parliament-BJP

Bhubaneswar, Nov 06 : BJP MP Balbir Punj today said the party would raise the multi-crore rupee mining scam in Orissa in a big way in both Houses of Parliament during the coming winter session and demand a CBI probe into the illegal mining.

Mr Punj, who led a BJP Parliamentary party delegation to several mining areas in Keonjhar district for an on the spot probe into the scandal, told newspersons that the magnitude of such a huge scam involving all the major corporate houses and government officials would not be possible without the knowledge of the state government.

He said a BJP delegation would meet Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and submit a memorandum urging him to intervene into the scam and bring all the culprits involved in the illegal mining to limelight and punish them.

The BJP MP said the party would exert pressure on the Centre to force the state government to order for a fair and transparent inquiry into the scam.

He alleged that the 'all road of corruption in the case leads to the Chief Minister whose officer has successfully manipulated the scam by booking a few low level officials while allowing the big fish to go scot free.

Mr Punja said if the Chief Minister was so transparent, he should welcome the demand for a CBI inquiry instead of opposing it. The BJP MP said it was quite shocking that the illegal mining was still going on in Keonjhar and other parts of the district despite such a hue and cry in the political circle.

Mr Punj said the BJP Parliamentary party delegation had an eyewitness account of the illegal mining going on unabated in Keonjhar district during its field visit to the area. Huge quantity of minerals were still found lying on the roads along with the heavy machines and hundreds of trucks and dumpers were being used to transport the looted minerals, the BJP MP alleged.

He further said when the team went to the area those working in the mines fled from the scene while at some places the roads were cut to prevent the BJP MPs reaching the mines for an on the spot investigation.

Mr Punj said there was a clear cut violation of forest laws by both the corporate houses and also the state government-owned Orissa Mining Corporation(OMC) in the exploration of the minerals. Illegal mining had been going on rampantly in the reserve forest areas with the knowledge of the government officials,he alleged.

The BJP MP poohpoohed the statement of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik and Steel and Mines Minister Raghunath Mohanty, describing the visit of the BJP Parliamentary team to the mines area as politically motivated.

Mr Punj said Mr Naveen Patnaik should know that he had occupied the chair through a political process and it was not an entertainment industry.

--UNI

(c) 2009 Published with permission from United News of India.
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