By Our Correspondent
BHUBANESWAR: Irked over the allegations made against its State President , Odisha BJP has filed a defamation suit in Balasore’s SDJM court against BJD Mines mafia Raja Chakra lawyer Sitanshu Dwivedi, who happened to be the Chairman of State Bar Council.
Mines mafia Raja lawyer Dwivedi accused the BJP of being linked to a Rs 1.3 crore transfer allegedly tied to a major transport scam. BJP state chief Manmohan Samal denied the claims outright, calling them “false, malicious and politically motivated.”
“A month ago, Dwivedi accused me and my colleagues of forcing him to deposit Rs 1.3 crore to the BJP leadership or face business consequences. I’ve taken legal action to let the truth prevail,” Samal told reporters.
Raja Chakra, a politically influential BJD leader, was arrested in March by the Economic Offences Wing (EOW).
Dwivedi had alleged that the Rs 1.3 crore was funneled into the BJP’s state account, with Rs 53 lakh withdrawn by a former secretary of a mining agency. The BJP denied this, labeling it a conspiracy and challenging the credibility of the source.
