CM failed to return money of chit fund victims: Union minister Dharmendra Pradhan

BHUBANESWAR: Union minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Sunday criticised chief minster Naveen Patnaik on the chit fund scam, saying he had failed to keep his promise — made in the run-up to the 2014 elections — of returning the money to the victims of the scam.


Reacting to the extension of the tenure of the M M Das Commission, which is probing the chit fund scam, by six months, Pradhan said, “Justice delayed is justice denied. Extension of the commission’s tenure means the process of returning money to the poor gullible investors will get longer.”

He added that the state government had announced the creation of a corpus fund of Rs 300 crore to return the money of those who had invested in chit fund companies. “It has been proved that the chief minister’s statement was a lie. The money of the poor has been looted with the help of ministers, MPs and MLAs. If I say this in the media, BJD leaders will get angry with me,” Pradhan said.

BJD spokesperson Prashant Nanda countered the minister by saying the state had started the process of giving money back to cheated chit fund investors. “The commission has already submitted its report. The government extended its tenure to get applications from investors who had failed to submit their pleas on losing money to chit funds,” he explained. tnn