Former SJTA chief, CA benefited over Puri Srimandir funds in Yes Bank: BJP

Bhubaneswar:  The Opposition BJP on Thursday alleged that former Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) chief Pradipta Mohapatra and chartered accountant (CA) Bijaya Sahoo took huge kickbacks in the deposit of Puri Srimandir Fund in crisis-hit  Yes Bank.

BJP chief whip Mohan Majhi alleged that Mohapatra and Sahoo had visited Europe soon after the huge amount of Puri Srimnadir was being deposited in Yes Bank .

An amount of Rs 545 crore was deposited with Yes Bank, Puri in shape of TDRs ( Term deposits)that would mature in March 2020.

However, both Mohapatra and Sahoo said that the allegation made by BJP leader was ‘false and baseless.’

“I never visited Europe in 2019 and never travelled abroad with Pradipta Mohapatra. All the llegations are false and fabricated, ” said Sahoo while talking to Kalinga TV.

Similarly, Mohapatra said that he had last visited Europe ten years ago as part of a DoPT training programme in London.

Both BJP and Congress legislators today created ruckus in the State assembly seeking an explanation from the Government over the deposit of Rs Rs 545 crore of Srimandir funds in the Yes bank, instead of a nationalised bank.

Yesterday, four BJD parliamentarians from Odisha, led by Rajya Sabha MP Prasanna Acharya, called on Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in New Delhi and sought release of Rs 545 crore deposited by the Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) at  Yes Bank.