Cong continues tirade against chit fund probe panel chief

Congress today petitioned the Odisha Governor demanding the immediate removal of former Judge of Orissa High Court Justice M M Das, who is heading the Judicial Commission probing into the chit fund scam, from the panel.
A Congress delegation led by its Cuttack city President Md Moqim submitted the memorandum to the Governor through the District Collector here.
The party had also staged a dharna in front of the Commission's office here yesterday in which hundreds of investors, who have been allegedly duped by the chit fund companies participated condemning the observations made by Justice Das at a BJD function here on Wednesday.

"Since Justice Das was appointed by the state government to conduct a judicial enquiry into the scam and find out the roles of influential persons in it, he should not have attended a political party meeting and aired his views on the scam in public before completion of enquiry", the memorandum said adding it was morally wrong and prejudicial.
The party also condemned Justice Das' observations that the chit fund business in Odisha had assumed the shape of cottage industry and people invested in it due to greed.
Doubting the impartiality of the judicial enquiry, Congress also claimed Jusice Das' ssought to give a clean chit to the state government even before the enquiry was over.

Urging the Governor to immediately remove Justice Das from the judicial enquiry, the Congress threatened to continue its agitation in more strident way if its demands were not met.