Bhubaneswar, April 18: Senior Congress leader and in-charge of the party’s Orissa affairs Jagdish Tytler today threw a challenge to the Naveen Patnaik government saying he has seven questions which the government must answer.

He said he would quit politics if the government was able to answer the questions to his satisfaction.

“This is the government of scams. There is dal scam, mining scam and a scam in awarding ports to various industrial houses,” Tytler said.

The leader, who arrived here from Delhi today, said: “I put seven questions to the government. I expect government to reply to my questions. If it gives satisfactory answer to my questions, I will not step into this state again.”

This is Tytler’s fifth visit to Orissa after he took charge of party’s affairs in the state. Lambasting the government for looting money meant for the poor, Tytler said the Naveen Patnaik government had been able to survive as the people in Orissa were innocent.

He said that during his next visit to Orissa, he would come with a list of various funds allotted to the state by the Centre in the past 12 years and the money siphoned off by the Orissa government as well as middlemen. “The Congress’s effort to expose corruption in the Naveen Patnaik government will yield result in the 2014 elections. The AICC high command has given us clear-cut instructions in this regard,” he added.

After arriving here, Tytler drove straight to the Congress Bhavan where he met leaders who had lost the general elections. “We cannot let our own leaders fade into oblivion. Even if they have lost the elections, we will continue to give them due support. My aim is to give them required moral boost,” he added.

The BJD has been reactive to the Tytler’s visit to Orissa. “We have seen various leaders deputed to Orissa by the AICC. As Tytler is a man of the grassroots, we are taking his presence in Orissa very seriously. Congress may gain from his visit but will not able to topple the government,” said a senior BJD leader.

Senior BJD leader and minister Surjya Naryan Patro said: “We know about Tytler’s stature in their party. It is a constitutional obligation on the part of the Centre to give assistance to the state. The Centre is also collecting various taxes from the state. It is not doing any mercy on the state.”

Panchyati raj minister Prafulla Samal said: “We have admitted that there are a few irregularities in the MNREGS scheme. But several steps have been taken to improve the execution of the scheme.”

Samal further said that the government was ready for a CBI inquiry. “There is no corruption. We are even ready to go to jail, if the charges are proved,” he said.