Chit fund: Congress seeks clarification from Naveen

State government is not serious about return of money to the investors, says Opposition leader

A day after hundreds of duped depositors from different parts of the State staged a massive demonstration demanding refund of their money, Opposition Congress on Wednesday sought a clarification from Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on his government's plan to return money to the investors who had been cheated by chit fund companies.

The issue was raised in the State Assembly by Leader of Opposition Bhupinder Singh.

Mr. Singh sought a clarification from the Chief Minister while pointing out that six months had already passed since the State government announced to make payment to the depositors within three months.

Ruling sought

Mr. Singh, who addressed a demonstration organised under the banner of Aarthika Sansthamananka Dwara Khatigrastha Milita Mancha in front of the Assembly on Tuesday, sought a ruling from Speaker Pradip Kumar Amat on his demand for a statement on the issue by the Chief Minister.

Alleging that the State government was not serious about return of money to the investors, Mr. Singh said the government was not clear on how many chit fund companies had cheated lakhs of depositors in the State.

Earlier, the government put the number of such companies at 134, but it was now saying that there were only 84 of them, he added.

No manpower

The judicial commission probing the scam had not been provided with additional manpower though it had received more than 10 lakh petitions, Mr. Singh said.

Distress sale

The Opposition legislators also raised the issue of distress sale of paddy in several districts of the State as the State government had not made adequate arrangements for procurement of paddy till date.