Senior BJP leader Rajnath Singh addresses a media conference in Bhubaneswar. Picture by Sanjib Mukherjee

Bhubaneswar, June 13: Senior BJP leader Rajnath Singh today urged the Orissa government to refer all the scams that have surfaced in the recent past to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) for investigation for a thorough probe.

“Naveen Patnaik was once our good friend. As a friend, it's our duty to give him a good piece of advice. For his personal benefit, he should refer all the cases to an independent agency for an inquiry,” said Singh.

He recalled that the Naveen Patnaik government's image had been hit hard by mining scam, dal scam and coal scam. The recent audiotape revealing the involvement of its two ministers in 'buying' MLAs is yet another blot in Naveen's political career, he said.

Singh, who is here to participate in the party's anti-corruption campaign, said: “The state government has lost its credibility and made it quite clear that the BJP had 'no intention to forge any alliance' the BJD. It may be recalled that the BJD had severed ties with the BJP just before the elections in 2009 and had gone to polls on its own.

On Posco, he said: “The state government should immediately stop forcible land acquisition in the proposed project area. The Centre is going to introduce a bill for an amendment to the Land Acquisition Act. Many measures will be included in the land acquisition process.

“The companies should be told to negotiate with the landowners for acquisition of land. The government should not be involved in the process.” Targeting the UPA government at the Centre for its failure to check the ongoing inflation, Singh said: “The UPA government has totally failed in checking the price hike. The price of the petroleum product has been increased seven times during the last 13 months.