BJD leaders take swipe at Centre over Vedanta, Polavaram issues

Training its guns on the Congress led UPA government at the Centre for attempting to stall big ticket investment projects in Orissa, the ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD) has warned that the state would not tolerate step-motherly treatment of the Union government.

Senior BJD leaders who had participated in the 'Save Orissa' rally of the youth wing of the party at Jagannathpur, near Lanjigarh, the site of the alumina refinery of Vedanta Aluminium Limited, blamed the Centre for creating obstacles in the path of Orissa's progress.

“While Orissa, under the leadership of Naveen Patnaik, has attracted around Rs six lakh crore of investment proposals in various sectors and has ranked first in the country, leaving behind Maharashtra and Gujarat, the Congress cannot tolerate it and is creating obstacles for the implementation of the project”, said a party leader.

“The war against the Centre was virtually launched from here and it would be continued in all the corners of the state to educate the people about the double-standards of the Centre”, said Sanjay Dasburma, president of the youth wing of BJD.

Speaking on the occasion, S N Patra, the state minister for revenue and disaster management said, “The Union ministry of environment and forests gave the clearance to the Polavaram project, pushing the country's interest to the backseat. At least 26 tribal villages in Malkangiri district will be submerged if the Polavaram project is implemented and Orissa would continue its protest against the project.”

The 'Save Orissa' rally was organized by the BJD's youth wing in protest against the rejection of Stage-II forest clearance for bauxite mining at Niyamgiri hills in Kalahandi district and giving approval for the Polavaram project.

The rally assumes significance as it is an attempt by the BJD to woo the tribals in the aftermath of the visit of Rahul Gandhi, general secretary, All India Congress Committee (AICC) to Lanjigarh where the Congress leader had addressed a congregation of tribals on August 26.

Besides Patra, top leaders of the BJD including finance minister Prafulla Chandra Ghadai; health and family welfare minister Prasanna Acharya; labour and employment minister Puspendra Singh; energy minister Atanu Sabyasachi Nayak and minister for consumer welfare and food supplies Sarada Nayak participated in the rally.

However, BJD supremo and the state Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik; Pyari Mohan Mohapatra, one of the closest aides of the Chief Minister and state agriculture minister Damodar Rout were conspicuous by their .