Mining closure: Goan miners slam Hegde

Plan a 48-hour-long dharna at Jantar Mantar on April 15-16

Former Karnataka Lokayukta Justice (retd) Santosh Hegde drew flak from the Goa Mining People’s Front for insinuating that illegal mining was akin to underworld activities.

“We condemn the statement of Hegde equating us with Dawood Ibrahim. We are the workers who have been toiling on the mining leases to make our livelihood,” Suhas Naik, Convener, Goa Mining People’s Front (GMPF) told reporters here on Monday. GMPF represents the people affected by the closure of mining activity in the state.

The Supreme Court had last year imposed an interim ban on mining in the coastal state. During his interaction with media yesterday, Hegde had invoked Underworld to support his argument that those indulged in illegal mining business did not deserve any compensation.

“We cannot ask illegalities to be perpetrated because some people are going to remain hungry... Frankly speaking (this is like) many people losing their jobs if Dawood Ibrahim were to be arrested,” he had said. Dismissing Hegde’s observation, Naik said, “If he is treating us like Dawood Ibrahim then (it means) he did not want us in society.”

GMPF, which had been holding the sit-in protest at Azad Maidan here for resumption of legal mining, on Monday announced that it was withdrawing the agitation and will be launching it at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi on April 15-16.