Click to play videoBhubaneswar: Odisha’s law and rural dev minister Bikram Keshari Arukha has finally responded to the IBN–Cobrapost expose and said that he will return one of the two houses that he had availed from the Bhubaneswar Development Authority (BDA).
However, the minister declined to resign from his post due to the allegation of false affidavit made by him to get the housing plots.
Arukha said, "I have made no false affidavit. It was all done in accordance to the brochure of the BDA for the housing scheme. I will however return one of the two houses that I had availed under BDA. But there is no question of my resignation.”
He said that the affidavit made by him was in accordance to the prescribed brochure of BDA and his affidavit was not false.
"I have don nothing illegal, there's no question of my resigning, I had applied as per the rules laid out in the brochure," Arukh said.
He also defended that the money paid to get the housing schemes were availed through loan and his personal income.
However, IBN-Cobrapost expose had revealed that the affidavit made by the minister was absolutely false and the money paid for the housing was disproportionate to the income declared in the election nomination papers of the minister just few months before the purchase in 2009.
Meanwhile Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, who had already said that he is looking into the case, is yet to act on the matter.
Last week, the IBN Network- Cobrapost investigation revealed how former and sitting judges of Orissa, police officers and bureaucrats have received flats from the discretionary quota of ministers.
The expose reported how at least 10 judges and 30 IAS and IPS officers have benefited from the Ministers' discretionary powers.
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