Bhubaneswar, April 11: The Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) today decided to hit the streets on April 26 to demand food supplies and consumer welfare minister Sanjay Das Burma’s resignation following a CBI notice to the minister on allegedly having received two SUVs  from a sham deposit company Artha Tatwa (AT).

The Congress is of the view that the CBI probe cannot be fair as Das Burma, in his capacity as a minister, can influence the investigation.

After a meeting of the party’s core committee meeting, PCC president Prasad Harichandan said: “Das Burma has lost the moral authority to continue in office. His continuity in office would affect the ongoing CBI investigation into the sham deposit company scam.” He said the CBI would have to seek documents from Odisha’s transport department about the vehicles and Das Burma was in a position to influence the government agency.

However, AT chief Pradip Sethy, without naming Das Burma, today said: “The Pazero issue is the biggest joke of the year. He (Das Burma) is an innocent person and a non-issue has become a major issue.”

Sethy made these remarks while being taken to a local court here for his deposition in the AT case.

Sethy said he had no idea whether any 51 of the directors of his company had given any vehicle to any leader. Many leaders approached the company for vehicles during the election, he had claimed.

Reacting to Sethy’s statement, BJP spokesperson Sajjan Sharma said: “It shows that there is a nexus between the government and criminals.”

Harichandan said: “Our suspicion of Das Burma and Sethy being hand in glove has been confirmed by the latter’s statement.”

This is for the first time that the Congress appears united on an issue and backing Das Burma’s bete noire, Lalatendu Bidyadhar Mohapatra, who had brought the charges about the minister’s alleged link with the sham firm on March 17.

However, the Congress leadership had remained silent on the issue till April 4 when the CBI issued a notice to Das Burma asking him to submit all information on the issue of owning vehicles.

Even though a section of leaders in the BJD are critical of supporting Das Burma, the party spokesperson today came out in defence of the minister. 

“The party backs him as he is a minister. The Congress will not gain anything by organising the rally,” said BJD spokesperson Amar Satpathy.