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Patnaik accuses Orissa government of scam cover-up

Biju Janata Dal president and Union Steel and Mines Minister Naveen Patnaik on Wednesday accused the Orissa government of not co-operating with the Centre in providing necessary information about the alleged multi-million rupee scam in the state agriculture department.

Patnaik told reporters in Bhubaneswar that he had already apprised Prime Minister A B Vajpayee about the large-scale misutilisation and misappropriation of central funds by the state agriculture department, and requested a Central Bureau of Investigation inquiry into the matter.

The BJD president said he had reiterated his demand, and requested the prime minister to personally intervene in the matter.

Referring to Chief Minister J B Patnaik's statement that the BJD president did nothing about the functioning of the department, the Union minister said the chief minister, who was also holding the agriculture portfolio, should welcome a CBI inquiry if he felt that there were no irregularities in the utilisation of central funds in the agriculture department.

UNI

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