Odisha Congress to help chit-fund victims

The Odisha unit of the Congress Friday said it would provide free legal help to people who have been cheated by chit-fund operators.

State Congress president Jayadeb Jena said an estimated 20 lakh people in Odisha have invested their hard-earned money in schemes run by various non-banking financial institutions (NBFI) in the state but did not get back the money which was promised to them.

"With the state government is doing nothing to help the victims, the Congress has decided to set up help cells in each block and district headquarters," Jena told IANS.

"The party's local chiefs would start collecting complaints from people next week. After consulting lawyers affiliated to the Congress, they will decide further course of action. We are setting up a state-level cell in Bhubaneswar," he said.

"We will provide legal help free of cost to the victims. Our fight will continue until they get justice," Jena added.

However, a ruling Biju Janata Dal leader termed the move by the opposition Congress as political. "The state government has been acting strongly against such chit-fund companies and is taking steps to ensure the victims get back their money," he said on the condition of anonymity.

"The Congress is playing politics with an eye on the 2014 general election," he said.