Agnivesh vows to take Posco stir to world arena

Expressing solidarity with the anti-Posco campaigners, social activist Swami Agnivesh on Friday said, he will take the protest against the forceful land acquisition for the project to the international level.

“Now, the opposition is not confined to Nuapatana or Gobindpur. The movement has reached the national level and it will be taken to the international level,” Agnivesh told news persons here after undertaking a tour of the Posco site.

“If required, I will go to Seoul and will conduct a press conference about the company’s forceful acquisition of land. I believe that the people of South Korea will not allow it,” he said.

Agnivesh informed that the matter will be put before the World Future Council as there are gross violations of human rights, which is “unethical and unacceptable”. He said, he will meet President, Pranab Mukherjee in New Delhi and apprise him of the ground situation.

Condemning the police presence at the site, the activist alleged that the Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has vested interest for the project as it has been opposed by all political parties of the state including Bharatiya Janata Party, Congress and CPI and asked why the state government is in a hurry when the amendment in the 1896 Land Acquisition Act is scheduled to be tabled in the parliament in the ensuing budget session of the Parliament.

He also appealed to the Congress leader, Rahul Gandhi, BJP leader, Rajnath Singh to visit the site.

Earlier in the day, taking part in a dharna at the Posco project site, near Mangla Chowk in Gobindpur village, he denounced the use of police force to crush democratic movement by the villagers including women and kids. He termed the land acquisition with the help of police as ‘unconstitutional’.

Refuting the allegations of Agnivesh, Jagatsinghpur SP, Satyabrata Bhoi said no acquisition has been made forcefully and everything is done with the consent of the people and those betel vines, which had been given by the owners willingly, had been demolished by the administration.