I am not an enemy of Orissa: Jairam Ramesh

Bhubaneswar, Jun 2: Union Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh on Jun 1 said that he was not an enemy of Orissa regretting that the media did not see the positive side of his ministry.

"It is unfortunate that my media friends highlight ''nos'' of my ministry and do not see positive side of the things. I am not against the state," Ramesh said during the inauguration of North East Bio-diversity gallery at the Regional Museum of Natural History, where Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik was also present.

"Many media friends were at the airport today. As soon as I landed here, they asked me questions on Posco. Posco is not all about Orissa. The state has a lot more things other than Posco," he said.

Ramesh did not take questions from the media on Posco or any other matter.

"Though I do not know the language, I am very much sensitive to the extraordinary tradition and culture of Orissa," Ramesh said, adding that his day started by listening to Oriya singer Pandit Raghunath Panigrahi's Geet Govinda.

He claimed that the state has greatly benefited from the MoEF and many central projects were started first in Orissa. The ruling BJD had last year launched its ''Save Orissa Campaign'' blaming Ramesh for clearance to the multi-purpose Polavaram project in Andhra Pradesh while rejecting the mining proposal for Vedanta's alumina refinery here.

PTI