 "naveen patnaik")
The BJP has announced that its activists will gherao Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik's residence on Monday to protest against his "silence" over the high-profile Archana Nag blackmailing case and demanded a CBI probe into the matter.
The Congress also hit out at the chief minister, who also holds the home portfolio, and sought a statement from him on the alleged involvement of ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD) leaders in the case.
Nag, a 26-year-old woman, was arrested by police on October 6 on the charge of blackmailing people including politicians allegedly by trapping them in a sex racket. Her husband was also arrested later.
"The chief minister is silent even as several BJD leaders are involved in the scandal linked to Archana Nag. The BJP wants the CM to give a statement on the issue," BJP state general secretary Lekhashree Samantsinghar told reporters here.
She alleged that despite being aware of everything about the case, Patnaik who is also the BJD president, remained silent creating confusion among the people.
Therefore, after several agitations, the saffron party has decided to gherao 'Naveen Niwas', the CM's residence, on Monday to mount pressure on him to take action in the episode and order a CBI probe, Samantsinghar said.
In a separate press conference, OPCC president Sarat Pattnayak said, "Patnaik's silence has deepened the mystery in the case in which many senior leaders are involved."
He demanded a court-monitored probe by a Special Investigation Team (SIT) into the whole episode.
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Pattnayak claimed that the image of Odisha has been tarnished outside the state for which the BJD government and the ruling party are responsible.
Rejecting the allegations, BJD spokesperson Lenin Mohanty claimed that the national parties do not have any issue to highlight before the November 3 Dhamnagar by-election.
"Truth will come out in Archana Nag case at the right time," he said.
An internal estimation done by the police said that Nag and her husband Jagabandhu Chand have acquired properties worth Rs 30 crore in a span of only four years from 2018 to 2022. The couple allegedly owns a palatial house with imported interior decorations, luxury cars, four high-breed dogs and a white horse.
Photographs of Archana and Jagabandhu along with many politicians of different parties have gone viral on social media.
(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
