Bhubaneswar: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Friday rebuffed the claims of BJD leader Raja Chakra’s lawyer that the state leadership of the party had demanded and received Rs 1.32 crore from Gandhamardan Loading Agency and Transporting Cooperative Society Ltd after coming to power in Odisha.
Soumya Sankar Chakra, also known as Raja Chakra, a prominent BJD leader of mineral-rich Keonjhar district, was arrested last month by ED over his alleged links with the firm reportedly involved in over Rs 150 crore scam. Investigation had revealed that the loading agency had earned around Rs 185 crore from 2017 to March, 2024 and its former president Manas Ranjan Barik and secretary Utkal Das, who were also arrested, in connivance with some influential local persons defrauded huge sums in the name of peripheral development.
Speaking to the media, BJP state president Manmohan Samal termed the bribe demand allegation as a conspiracy to tarnish the image of the party leaders. “My life is an open book and so is that of BJP and its leaders. You can verify our accounts to check when the said amounts were transferred as being claimed. These are irresponsible statements without any evidence
,” he said.
He advised media not to publish unverified news which damages reputations built over long years of hard work & dedication.
He also supported Congress’ demand for a CBI probe into these allegations.
Addressing a presser, Congress MLA Taraprasad Bahinipati demanded a thorough investigation into the matter. “Raja Chakra’s lawyer has claimed that Rs 1.32 crore was transferred to the BJP account. I welcome the arrest of Raja Chakra. But who is Pravakaran? The Odisha government arrested Raja Chakra and took over Rs 1.32 crore from him. But how much did they take from Pravakaran? We want a CBI probe into the matter and will hit the streets if the demand is not met,” he said.
The allegation
“The court had directed the IO to produce the 2022-2024 resolution book and register in which payments made by the firm are listed, along with the special audit report till 2021-22. However, the IO failed to do so. We have submitted the office copy of the resolutions with emphasis on two payments. The June 7, 2024, resolution mentions the demand for Rs 14 lakh ahead of the swearing-in ceremony of the BJP government on June 12 with the threat to shut down the firm. Accordingly, the amount was transferred through a bank transaction. The other resolution on June 4, 2024, mentions a demand for Rs 1 crore and transfer of Rs 1.3 crore to the account of the BJP state head. While the secretary withdrew Rs 53 lakh and the remaining Rs 50 lakh was transferred through RTGS. The local leaders took Rs 15 lakh,” Sitanshu Diwedi alleged while naming Anjan Kumar Bej, former secretary of the agency, as the party’s local representative who made the demand.
Bej, however, has refuted these allegations. “The statements are misleading and an attempt to derail the investigation,” he told the media.