Agniveshâ??s comment stir-up enthusiasm to Anti-Posco agitators

Dec 24:  Human rights activist and the Arya Samaj leader Swami Agnivesh warned the Orissa government for repeating the mistakes of ‘Nandigram and Kalinga Nagar’ by using police force to set up the proposed Posco plant in Jagatsinghpur.

“Naveen Patnaik Government should not insist on establishment of the proposed mega steel plant of POSCO-India in the area allocated for the project in Jagatsinghpur district,” said Swami Agnivesh, president World Council of Arya Samaj on Sunday.

Addressing a press conference here, Agnivesh said that State government had created suspicion by showing its extreme concern to facilitate setting up of the steel project over the proposed site.

The Chief Minister should not ignore the peaceful democratic resistance of the local people who were not ready to hand over their land for the project, because ignorance would force them to adopt any other violent means of aggression and that would by pernicious to the society. “Why is the State government hell bent on destroying a thriving agrarian economy in the three gram panchayats of Dhinkia, Gadakujang and Nuagaon,” he enquired.

Clarifying the issue Agnivesh added that Posco was being provided 4,000 acres of fertile farmland producing rich cash crops. When the Supreme Court and the UPA believe that farmlands cannot be acquired for special economic zones or for industrialisation. Why doesn’t the state agree?” he asked. No industry should be allowed at the cost of the masses, the human rights activist suggested that Posco be allotted alternative land, available in Paradip, hardly at a distance of 10km from the proposed site. “At that site there are some 19,000 acres, which may be used for the plant,” he claimed.

Visiting Dhinkia village on Saturday, Agnivesh said that some four thousand people are opposing on front against the establishment of the Posco steel plant and are united under Abhay Sahu, president of POSCO Pratirodh Sangram Samiti.

Condemning the memorandum of understanding (MoU) as ‘baseless’ signed between POSCO and the Orissa government, Swami Agnivesh said unambiguously that he was in support of the anti-POSCO agitation. The Korean company should not be given captive mines at any cost, he said.

Opposing the state government decision to let the Korean company establishing captive port, he asked “How can a foreign company be allowed to have a captive port when Paradip port was situated just a few km away?”

President of the Arya samaj in India, Agnivesh said the International Arya Maha Sammelan, scheduled to be held from January 3 to 6, would adopt a resolution expressing solidarity with the peoples’ struggles here.

“All Hindus have the right to enter into the temple, irrespective of their caste, creed and birth,” said Agnivesh. In support of Iskcon’s demand to allow all Hindus to enter the Jagannath Temple at Puri, the Arya Samaj would launch a nation-wide campaign demanding the right to entry for all Hindu devotees, he added.