Will show cine stars door if chit fund scam charges stick: BJD

Odisha's film stars who are members of the ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD) will be shown the door if they are found to have been complicit in the chit fund scam, party Vice President Damodar Rout said on Sunday.

"We did not invite them (cine actors) to join our party. They came with somebody else's recommendation. If we get an iota of proof, they will be shown the door," said Rout, who is also Odisha's Excise Minister.

They were given membership of the BJD as crowd-pullers during the elections, he added.

Industry Minister and BJD leader Debi Prasad Mishra said Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, who is also the party president, has always taken the right decision when it comes to members who bring disgrace to the party.

However, the allegations of opposition parties that BJD politicians are involved in the chit fund scam should be based on facts, he said.

Actor-turned-BJD MP Anubhav Mohanty said the media had little reason to link his name with the chit fund scam.

"You (media) are unnecessarily dragging the issue. This is not based on truth," Anubhav told reporters here.

He said there was not an iota of truth about his involvement in the chit fund scam.

Notably, Anubhav, Sidhant Mohapatra (another BJD MP) and comedian Tatwa Prakash Satapathy (who unsuccessfully fought assembly polls in 2014 on the BJD ticket) have acted in Odia films produced by Oscar Chit Fund group chairman Prabhash Rout, who is an accused in the case.

Meanwhile, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) trained its gun on the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and said it was shielding the chit fund accused after entering into a deal with the state government.

BJP leader Bijay Mohapatra said the government, the CBI and the chit fund accused have joined hands, leaving the common people high and dry.

"Going into its mode of investigation, the CBI has proved that it is guiltier than the chit fund companies. The fact remains that the chit fund companies are not afraid of the CBI investigation which is amply clear with the name of Oscar Chit Fund company coming to the fore," said the BJP leader.

--IANS

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