Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik and Dharmendra Pradhan, (File photo) Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Thursday posed three questions to Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, referring to an intervention application submitted in the Supreme Court on CBI's ongoing probe into allocation of captive coalfields from 1993 to 2010. The BJD hit back, posing three questions to Pradhan on Vyapam, coal fields and petrol pump allocation. Vaibhav Verma, who submitted the intervention application, requested the SC on Monday to be included as a third party in the matter and stated that the CBI is not probing the case "expeditiously". Verma cited a case related to coal allocation for Nagpur-based Central Collieries Ltd in 1998 and stated that the company was allocated Maharashtra's Tekli Jena Belloras coal block that year, even though it was registered only in 1999. Citing a media report, the applicant claims a case was registered in the matter in 2014. According to Verma, while CBI questioned Patnaik in 2017, as he held the Coal portfolio in 1998, the agency is yet to complete the probe. His application urges the court to issue an "appropriate" time-frame to the CBI to conclude its investigation as "witnesses can be won over and evidence tampered with" often with the passage of time in "high-profile financial offences". Pradhan on Thursday said, "Let the CM clarify the allegations. Was a coal block given in exchange for bribes? Why has the 2017 CBI interrogation not been mentioned in your election affidavits? Is a 21-year-old offence no longer an offence?" Hitting back, BJD spokesperson Sasmit Patra said, "What are Dharmendra Pradhan's links with Vyapam Scam-accused Sudhir Sharma? It was found Sharma had purchased airline tickets for Pradhan. The matter was raised in Parliament. Why did Pradhan hide?" "Former Coal Secretary P C Parakh's book states Dharmendra Pradhan approached him in 2005 and threatened him that coal from Mahanadi Coal Fields is given to private parties at government rates. Why was Pradhan lobbying for private companies?" he added. "Gangster Tito was given two petrol pumps. When it was revealed, a CBI inquiry was ordered. What are the results of that inquiry?" Patra said.
