BHUBANESWAR:  Former Union Minister Srikant Jena on Monday demanded a white paper on the alleged scam in purchase of masks, PPEs, sanitisers and gloves with all details instead keeping the issue under wraps as people of the State have a right to know.There seems to have been a huge scam in procurement of masks, testing kits and other related materials by the Odisha State Medical Corporation. The process of purchase was non-transparent and has been done dubiously, Jena said in a letter to Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik.

He said removal of a senior IAS officer from the responsibility of procurement and nine other IAS officers from Covid-19 duties has confirmed corruption in this procurement. “Why this sudden removal of these so-called Covid warriors from the command position in the midst of Covid-19 surge,” he asked.

Stating that the cost of expenditure by the Government on Covid-19 hospitals is also another important issue, Jena said details of financial support by the Government and PSUs have to be made public. “All these details need to be in public knowledge. But they are not available on the website of Health department,” he said.

He also criticised Health Minister Naba Kishore Das for asking the people in a threatening tone to go to court and said it was most unfortunate. “This not only reflects the arrogance of the Government but also speaks volumes of its dangerous mindset,” he said.Opposition political parties Congress and BJP have earlier demanded a high-level probe into the scam and removal of the Health Minister over the issue.