CPI demands withdrawal of police force from POSCO site

Bhubaneswar, Apr 12 (UNI) The Orissa unit of the CPI today warned the state government against use of force to acquire land for the mega steel plant proposed by South Korea Steel major POSCO.

A delegation of the CPI-led by party MLA Narayan Reddy, which visited the site yesterday to take stock of the situation following heavy mobilisation of police force by the government, demanded that the force should be withdrawn from the area forthwith.

Talking to newsmen here,the team members said the police have let loose a reign of terror in the area and warned the government not to create another ''Kalinga Nagar'' or ''Nandigram'' in the area.

The CPI also demanded that the state government should cancel the Memorandum of Understanding(MoU) signed with the POSCO for the steel plant in the greater interest of the people of the state.

Party Joint secretary Prabhat Mishra said the delegation team had a detailed discussion with the people of Dhinkia, Nuagaon and GadaKujang who were likely to be displaced by the Steel Plant.

He said if the police forcefully entered in the area to acquire land for the project, the school children and the women in the villages would come to the forefront to oppose the force.

Mr Mishra condemned the way the state government was acting like an ''agent'' of POSCO to suppress the local agitation going on for the last one year.He urged all democratic parties and mass organisation to unitedly oppose the move of the government in the interest of the state.

The CPI, he said would hold a massive protest rally at Kujang on April 17 to announce a statewide movement in support of the local people opposing the steel plant on their fertile land.

The party, he said would take all possible steps to thwart the BJD-BJP government's plan to evict the people from their land.

UNI