Bhubaneswar, March 11 (IANS) After a special court summoned former prime minister Manmohan Singh in a coal block allocation case, the Congress and BJP on Wednesday expected that Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik's role would also be probed.
Patnaik had recommended to the central government allocation of Talabira-II coal block to Hindalco in 2005.
"The CBI has the right to summon or question anybody if there is prima facie evidence in a case of corruption. But what I am surprised about is how the CBI forgot the role of Odisha chief minister in the whole affair," said senior Congress leader Narasingh Mishra.
He said Manmohan Singh has already clarified that the coal block was allocated to Hindalco on the basis of Odisha chief minister's recommendation.
Odisha BJP president K.V. Singhdeo hoped that Patnaik could still be summoned in the case.
"No one can escape from the probe... be it the former prime minister or the chief minister. I am hopeful that the chief minister would be summoned by the court in due course for recommending the coal block in favour of Hindalco. Just wait," Singhdeo told media persons.
The Biju Janata Dal (BJD), however, was in a defensive mode and tried to shift the blame on the central government, stating that it has the final authority to decide on the matter.
"The chief minister had only recommended the case and it was the Centre which had the final say. We must understand the difference between a recommending authority and those responsible for the final decision," said BJD spokesperson Amar Satpathy.
Act Of Worship: Hearing in Supreme Court today on Places of Worship Act, Owaisi has filed a petition
The Supreme Court will hear on Thursday the petition of AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi seeking impl
Fahad Ahmed clarified Swara Bhaskar's 'brother' tweet, and gave such a reply
After tying the knot with Fahad Ahmed, an old tweet of Swara Bhaskar is going viral. In this twee
Actor Vikrant Massey's family friend Clive Kunder has also died in the Ahmedabad plane crash. Cli
China's big smartphone company Xiaomi recently launched the Mi 11 series Globy. The company launc
Ambani: Anant Ambani and Radhika Merchant stopped, the ceremony was held at Shrinathji temple
Anant Ambani, the younger son of Reliance chief Mukesh and Nita Ambani, has been stopped. Very so
Andrey Botikov, one of the scientists involved in the process of making the Kovid-19 vaccine 'Spu
Aamir Khan's reaction came on official entry in Oscars 2025 of Laapataa Ladies, X Wife revealed
It is a time of happiness for Aamir Khan and Kiran Rao, as his film Missing Ladies (Laapataa Ladi
Ghazipur's MP-MLA court's decision has come in the gangster case on Mafia Mukhtar Ansari. The cou
The troubles of trainee IAS Pooja Khedkar, who is surrounded by controversies, are not decreasing
The name of Anant Mahadevan is included in the few strong people of the Indian entertainment worl
