BJD snubs Rahul for Niyamigiri naxal remark

Says the tribals do not trust the national party anymore

Biju Janata Dal (BJD) today criticised Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi, who said that youth of Niyamgiri in Odisha would have turned into Naxalites, had he not intervened to cancel clearance for bauxite mining project of Vedanta.

The ruling party, which had earlier attacked the Congress-led Central government for ignoring the development of backward states like Odisha by blocking mining clearances, said the tribals do not trust the national party anymore.

“In the last election, it was proved that tribals do not consider Rahulji as their sepoy (leader). However, the remark of Niyamgiri youths becoming Naxalite was unbecoming of him,” said Samir Dash, spokesperson for BJD.

In 2014 Lok Sabha polls, Congress candidate Bhakta Charan Das lost the Kalahandi parliamentary seat to his BJD rival. Similarly, in the assembly polls too, Congress did not fare well in the areas surrounding Niyamagiri hill.

Grant of mining lease for Niyamgiri bauxite deposit has been bone of contention for several years, between Odisha government and the Centre. Former Congress minister, Jayanthi Natrajan, earlier this year, had admitted that she cancelled environment clearance for the mining project as per Rahul Gandhi’s instruction when she was in charge of the Union Ministry of Environment and Forest (MoEF).

The BJD said, Gandhi must clarify what took him so long to disclose his involvement.

“Rahul Gandhi must explain the reason of delay to disclose his involvement (in granting clearance for Niyamgiri bauxite mining). Why is he telling all these things now?” asked Dash.

The mining project was supposed to feed one million tonne alumina refinery of Sesa Sterlite, then known as Vedanta Aluminium Ltd (VAL) at Lanjigarh in Kalahandi district, one of the poorest region of the state.

MoEF had cancelled the final forest clearance for bauxite mining project in Niyamgiri in 2010, when Jairam Ramesh was in charge of the ministry. In July 2012, during the tenure of Natrajan as the minister, the environment clearance for the project was withdrawn.

MoEF finally withdrew all clearances for Niyamgiri project in January 2014 after local villagers refused to allow the operation.

The present Union environment minister has assured to look into the files related to the Niyamgiri bauxite mining issue.