Will quit if BJD's allegation on poll spend is proved: Oram

Union Tribal Affairs Minister Jual Oram on Sunday said he was ready to step down if the allegations of discrepancies in poll expenditure statement levelled by the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) were found to be true.

Oram said Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik must resign first as the preliminary investigation against him proved that he had filed false poll affidavit during the 2014 elections.

"I am prepared to face any probe. The allegations levelled by the BJD are politically motivated. If the allegations are found true, then I would step down as a minister," Oram said in a statement.

The Minister said the Odisha ruling party was trying to mislead the people after discrepancies were found in their poll expenditure details.

Notably, the BJD on Saturday showed documents claiming that Oram furnished false affidavit to the Election Commission of India. The party alleged that there was mismatch in the poll expenditure details.

The BJD claimed that Jual Oram, the Lok Sabha member from Sundargarh -- the lone BJP MP from Odisha -- has misrepresented facts in his election expenditure statement submitted to the Election Commission after 2014 polls.

The party also threatened to move the Election Commission to seek action against the Union Tribal Affairs Minister.

--IANS

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