Bhubaneswar: Trouble brewed for Tourism and Culture Minister Jyoti Prakash Panigrahi with the Opposition accusing him of misusing public money by taking two female friends on an official trip to Hyderabad.
Addressing a press conference here, Congress leader Satya Prakash Nayak, in order to corroborate his charge, showed a letter purportedly issued by the Minister’s office for accommodation and air tickets for his two guests.
“Two female friends had accompanied the minister (Panigrahi) when he had gone to take part in a road show organised by Odisha Tourism in Hyderabad. The minister’s office had also written to the Tourism Director asking him to book their tickets and provide accommodation for them along with him,” Nayak claimed.
The Minister (along with his two female guests) stayed at Hotel Taj Krishna, even though he was not entitled to claim a five-star accommodation as per the TA Rules of the government, he said.
The Congress leaders asked why should the government bear the expenses of minister’s friends.
“The Chief Minister should investigate the matter and take appropriate action against him to prove that ‘Mo Sarkar’ and ‘5T’ initiatives are being implemented in the state with sincerity,” Nayak suggested.
When contacted, the minister refuted the allegations and termed those “false and fabricated”.
Earlier, Debasish Nayak (BJD) and Manmohan Samal (BJP) were compelled to resign from Naveen Patnaik’s Council of Ministers after such allegations surfaced.
Former Assembly Speaker Maheswar Mohanty had to resign unceremoniously from the post he held owing to similar charges.
Now, all eyes are set upon what action the government will take against the Tourism Minister on this issue.