Paradip: The ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD) staged a demonstration outside the Indian Oil refinery here for the first time and targeted Union petroleum minister Dharmendra Pradhan over jobs and corporate social responsibility (CSR) programme of the oil firm Thursday.
At a protest meeting organized by the student and youth wing of the party outside gate no-4 and the administrative building of the refinery project, BJD leaders targeted the Centre for local unemployment.
The party workers led by ministers Pratap Jena, Prafulla Samal, Jagatsinghpur MP Kulamani Samal, MLA Prasant Muduli, chairman Basant Biswal of Paradip municipality took out a bike rally from Rangiagad to the meeting venue before staging a demonstration over there.
They claimed the establishment of the Paradip Port has become a reality because of former Chief Minister Biju Patnaik and the refinery project because of untiring efforts of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik. BJP’s contractors who call the shots in the area will no more be acceptable, the party leaders thundered.
The party leaders sought to know as to how many Odias have been given employment in the refinery project established by the Centre-owned Indian Oil Ltd. They warned to intensify their agitation if the number of Odia people is not more than 80 per cent of the total number of persons employed in the refinery.
The agitation is deemed to have taken place in retaliation to the opposition BJP’s lockout programme of all the employment exchanges in the state over the state government’s failure to provide employment.
The party leaders sought details of the funds spent on corporate social responsibility programme as they alleged that Pradhan is spending the funds outside of the state instead of utilising it on development of peripheral areas.
The party leaders while cornering the Centre and Pradhan did not mind targeting the local MLA Damodar Rout over his alleged anti-people activities.
MP Kulamani Samal, minister Prafulla Samal and MLA Muduli alleged that Rout, who calls himself a chowkidar (watchman), has never thought it right to agitate in the interest of people against any industrial firms. This is because of his secret dealings with the industrial firms for fulfillment of his own interest, they alleged.
The leaders claimed that the party would no longer commit such a wrong and will seek details on the local employment from every industrial firm established in the state. Party leaders Sanjay Swain and trade union leader Golekh Chandra Nayak participated in the meeting.
PNN