BHUBANESWAR: Already under fire over the uncertainty of the Puri Jagannath Temple’s Rs 545 crore in Yes Bank accounts, the government on Thursday came in for further criticism with opposition parties claiming that several thousand crores had been parked in the crisis-hit bank.
During an argument in the assembly over the deposit of temple funds in the bank, senior BJP leader Bishnu Charan Sethi alleged that the state-owned Odisha Mining Corporation (OMC) has also deposited Rs 650 crore in Yes Bank. The OMC is yet to react on the allegations.
Similarly, Congress legislature party leader Narasingha Mishra alleged that the government’s Rs 3,000 crore is also stuck in Yes Bank and demanded a clarification from chief minister Naveen Patnaik on the issue.
The opposition members also wanted the finance minister to clarify on the department-wise deposit of government fund in Yes Bank and other private banks. Both BJP and Congress leaders also urged the speaker to form an assembly panel to probe as to how Jagannath Temple funds was deposited in Yes Bank.
Participating in the debate, opposition chief whip and BJP leader Mohan Majhi also criticized the government for including Yes Bank in the list of empanelled banks of the state government to handle transactions of PSUs and autonomous bodies.
The opposition chief whip also criticised former Shree Jagannath Temple Administrator (SJTA) P K Mohapatra (during whose tenure the money was deposited in Yes Bank) and temple managing committee member and chartered accountant Bijay Kumar Sahoo, who enjoyed Europe trip sponsored by the bank for depositing the temple funds.
Responding to allegations, Mohapatra said, “Since the matter is being debated in the assembly, I don’t want to comment on it. I would only like to clarify that I have not travelled to Europe in the last four years.”
Stating that allegations against him are false, Sahoo said he had not travelled abroad with Mohapatra in 2019 as is being alleged.
During an argument in the assembly over the deposit of temple funds in the bank, senior BJP leader Bishnu Charan Sethi alleged that the state-owned Odisha Mining Corporation (OMC) has also deposited Rs 650 crore in Yes Bank. The OMC is yet to react on the allegations.
Similarly, Congress legislature party leader Narasingha Mishra alleged that the government’s Rs 3,000 crore is also stuck in Yes Bank and demanded a clarification from chief minister Naveen Patnaik on the issue.
The opposition members also wanted the finance minister to clarify on the department-wise deposit of government fund in Yes Bank and other private banks. Both BJP and Congress leaders also urged the speaker to form an assembly panel to probe as to how Jagannath Temple funds was deposited in Yes Bank.
Participating in the debate, opposition chief whip and BJP leader Mohan Majhi also criticized the government for including Yes Bank in the list of empanelled banks of the state government to handle transactions of PSUs and autonomous bodies.
The opposition chief whip also criticised former Shree Jagannath Temple Administrator (SJTA) P K Mohapatra (during whose tenure the money was deposited in Yes Bank) and temple managing committee member and chartered accountant Bijay Kumar Sahoo, who enjoyed Europe trip sponsored by the bank for depositing the temple funds.
Responding to allegations, Mohapatra said, “Since the matter is being debated in the assembly, I don’t want to comment on it. I would only like to clarify that I have not travelled to Europe in the last four years.”
Stating that allegations against him are false, Sahoo said he had not travelled abroad with Mohapatra in 2019 as is being alleged.
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