@ Bhubaneswar
Stepping up his campaign against the amendment of the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, BJD president and leader of Opposition Naveen Patnaik on Saturday made an emotional appeal to the BJP MPs from Odisha to oppose the move and press for the recall of the new legislation. In a letter addressed to the BJP MPs, Naveen called upon them to listen to their conscience and seek reversal of the amendment which would snatch the powers of the state over its mineral resources.
“History remembers and honours those who raise their voice when injustice is done to their people and its resources. History will judge you not by the party you stood with but by whether you stood up for Odisha when it mattered most,” he said.
“You are standing at a historic juncture with a choice to stand and fight for the state and people who sent you to Lok Sabha with a mandate to protect their interests. This law is an injustice to the children and youth of Odisha, whose future is linked to the resources and opportunities of this state,” he added.
Describing August 13, the day the Bill was passed by the Lok Sabha, as a ‘black day for Odisha’, Naveen questioned their decision to support what he termed an arbitrary legislation with far-reaching consequences for the state. “The Bill was passed with less than 10 minutes of discussion in the Lok Sabha, despite having provisions with far reaching implications for the people of Odisha,” Naveen’s letter said.
Pointing out that Odisha accounts for nearly 44 per cent of India’s mineral wealth, the former chief minister said the state had for decades contributed its mineral resources to the country’s steel, power, mining and infrastructure sectors. The amendment could result in an estimated annual loss of more than Rs 12,000 crore. But the larger issue was the erosion of the state government’s authority over minerals and mineral-bearing land, he argued. The BJP, on its part, hit back accusing the former BJD government under Naveen of failing to safeguard the state’s interests during the mining irregularities controversy.
BJP spokesperson Anil Biswal said the Justice MB Shah Commission, during Naveen’s tenure as chief minister, had estimated the value of unlawful extraction of iron and manganese ore in Odisha at around Rs 59,200 crore and recommended recovery. He accused the BJD of political hypocrisy by questioning over allegations of political donations by companies linked to the mining controversy
“Politics should not become an exercise in opposing every reform simply because it comes from New Delhi or the BJP or the government of India,” Biswal said.