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‘Oust Naveen’ campaign launch next month

Photo: Ashoke Chakrabarty

Determined effort: Union Minister and in-charge for Orissa Ajay Maken flanked by State PCC Chief Jaydev Jena at a media conference in Bhubaneswar on Tuesday. —

BHUBANESWAR: The Opposition Congress on Tuesday gave final shape to the “chargesheet” against the Naveen Patnaik Government and announced that it would launch its “oust Naveen campaign” at a rally in Sambalpur on December 2.

Blaming the government for pursuing what it called “reckless industrialisation” at the cost of environment and forest, the party said that it would go to the people to highlight the inefficiencies and failures of the government.

Addressing a press conference at the end of the party’s extended executive committee meeting here, party’s Orissa in-charge and Congress Working Committee member Ajay Maken said that the Biju Janata Dal-Bharatiya Janata Party Government had also ignored the interests of the farmers to favour industries.

Mr. Maken announced that the Congress was fully in support of the thousands of farmers who were opposing the alliance government’s move to allow many new industries to source water from the Hirakud reservoir.

“It is unfortunate that the government had assured the industries to draw water from Hirakud when it had not been able to give adequate water for irrigation in the command area of Hirakud dam,” Mr. Maken observed.

The Congress leader also came down heavily on the government for allowing companies such as Vedanta Alumina to set up industries in gross violation of environment laws.

Mr. Maken also opposed the State Government’s decision to give captive lease of iron ore mines to several companies, including South Korean steel maker POSCO.

He also opposed the government’s decision to allow POSCO to set up a captive port on the State’s coast near its proposed steel project in Jagatsinghpur district.

Clarifying that the Congress was not against setting up of any industry, Mr. Maken said that no industrial project should be set up at the cost of environment and forest.

“No company should be given iron ore mines on lease and no forest land or fertile land be handed over to any company for establishment of any industry,” he said.

In the 24-point “chargesheet”, the party highlighted the alliance government’s failures on various fronts.

It criticised the government for its failure to implement the Centrally sponsored programmes, growth of naxalism, deterioration of law and order and irregularities in the allotment of dwelling units under the Indira Gandhi Awas Yojana.

The “chargesheet” also blamed the government for manufacturing and marketing of spurious medicines in the State, female foeticide and cholera deaths in the districts of Rayagada, Koraput and Kalahandi districts.

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