BHUBANESWAR, January 23: Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Srikant Jena has challenged president of the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) Naveen Patnaik to a public debate over the acts of omissions and commissions of the Janata Dal government between 1990 and 1995 for which he had turned a bitter critic of his father, late Biju Patnaik, the then chief minister."I am prepared to go to any place, be it Bhubaneswar, Aska or Kendrapara. The choice is yours," he added.Jena's salvo against Naveen comes in the wake of the BJD president's statement that the Union Minister would have to beg for apology for his acts of ommissions and commissions if he wanted to join the regional outfit.In a letter to Patnaik, the Union Minister has raked up several controversial issues of that period including laxity on the part of the Dal government to pursue corruption charges against J B Patnaik. Reminding Naveen Patnaik that Biju Patnaik returned to power in 1990 on the plank of "Orissa ra pragati-mantrinkara Sampatti (Orissa's development is minister's property), Jena said that Janata Dal had promised to expose J B Patnaik after coming to power. But J B Patnaik was allowed to go scot free and the Janata Dal filed such a weak chargesheet against him that he was not only released by the courts but exploited it to return to power in 1995.Stating that he had serious differences over the issue with Biju Patnaik, Jena said that in his fight against J B Patnaik and Jayanti Patnaik in Lok Sabha polls he had made "black money of Patnaiks" his poll plank.Quite interestingly, the Union minister has written the letter to Naveen Patnaik in Oriya ostensibly to drive home the latter's ignorance about the language. Naveen Patnaik can neither read nor write Oriya.The Union Minister also referred to the sale of the chargechrome plant to the Tatas by the Dal government which he had opposed. "Why a chargechrome plant of Rs 200 crore was sold at Rs 85 crore is still a mystery", Jena said and added, "you can know it better if you ask your elder brother".The Union Minister said that he had proposed to Biju Patnaik when he was the chief minister to keep the chrome ore mines in the Sukinda valley under the State government.The State could have earned atleast Rs 500 crore per annum from selling chrome ore, Jena said, adding that the money could have been used to form a social brigade by appointing unemployed youths to undertake welfare programmes in the villages.But the mining lease of the Tatas was renewed for 30 years. Some big business houses are now lobbying hard to take lease of rest of the area of chrome ore mines. "You can know about the entire transaction from your chrome ore businessman friend in whose house the decision to float the regional party was taken," he added.Jena raked up the issue of sale of Titagarh Paper Mill to the Thapar group at Rs 12 crore without tender and pointed out that Naveen Patnaik could only say what was the relation of his brother with the business group.Taking a dig at some ministers inthe Biju Patnaik cabinet, the Union minister said that only they (the ministers) can say who was responsible for the purchase of six lakh tonne of cement at a price of Rs 1800 per tonne when the market price was Rs 1200 per tonne.The Union Minister also refuted charges that he was responsible for the death of Biju Patnaik. Recalling that Biju Patnaik's health was in a good condition when he left Bhubaneswar for New Delhi, Jena alleged that Patnaik was taken to hospital from the house of Dilip Ray. "How can I say why your father was staying in the house of Ray instead of your or your elder brother's house", Jena said.
