Opposition still set to corner scam-tainted BJD

BHUBANESWAR: Nursing their wounds post-Umerkote, the Congress and the BJP now shift their focus on the winter session of the Assembly beginning Friday to take on the BJD Government, drowned in a series of scams.Though the BJD leadership sits pretty having garnered a moral authority of sort after the party’s victory in Umerkote bypoll, the Opposition will still target the Government with fresh fireworks. With panchayat polls four months away, the Congress is in no mood to lose time and has started groundwork to take the wind out of BJD’s sails.Several senior Congress leaders maintained that the party has to improve its performance in the panchayat polls as it will be trailer for the Assembly polls in 2014. The Congress has been out of power in Odisha since 2000 and lost three Assembly polls.The winter session will provide another opportunity for the Congress to attack the Naveen Patnaik Government, reeling under a series of scams.However, for the BJP, the intra-party contradictions and whispers have become louder after the Umerkote bypoll. Some of their leaders are even putting State president Jual Oram in the firing line. This may blunt its attack on the Government at least till things are sorted out. The saffron leaders are not happy with what they call oneupmanship of Oram in organising campaigning work.For its part, a buoyant BJD expects to face the Opposition onslaught in the Assembly without any problem. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Raghunath Mohanty said the Government is prepared to discuss any matters raised by the Opposition in the Assembly.But the party is yet to wriggle itself out of fresh controversies. The issues of Law Minister Bikram Keshari Arukh availing two houses from the Bhubaneswar Development Authority (BDA) and undervaluing of property by ministers, including the Chief Minister, are going to be raised in the House. Besides, the visit of the Shah Commission, coinciding with the Assembly session, to probe illegal mining activities in the State, is also likely to put the BJD in a tight spot. The Minister, however, said the Government is all prepared and there is nothing to hide.