Orissa,
Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh bandh over tribal killings
by Sarada Lahangir
Bhubaneswar:
The states of Orissa, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh are
observing a day-long shutdown today to protest the January
2 killing of 12 tribals at Kalingnagar by police. Jharkhand
Mukti Morcha (JMM) president Shibu Soren on a visit to Kalingnagar
to express solidarity with the victims on Friday said the
dawn-to-dusk shutdown in the three tribal dominated states
would be supported by all opposition parties.
Protestors
came out on the streets in Bhubaneswar on Saturday morning
blocking roads and burning automobile tyres at CRP Square,
Station Square and at other places in the city. Traffic
remained thin on the streets and most shops and business
establishments remaining closed. Political activists were
found squatting at some crossings. However, the Rourkela
steel plant was reported to be functioning normally. The
ruling BJD-BJP combine had gone totally defensive by ordering
the closure of educational institutions in view of Orissa
shutdown today and had directed the administration and police
to remain unprovoked during the shutdown. Orissa Chief Minister
Naveen Patnaik has appealed to the people, especially youths,
to maintain peace and calm during the shutdown. "No one
should take advantage of the tragic incident, politically
or otherwise," Patnaik said in his public appeal. The Orissa
police and administration are on high alert for the state-wide
shutdown called by seven opposition parties. Two companies
of Rapid Action Force have been requisitioned from the Centre.
The state has also deployed its entire police and paramilitary
forces to maintain law and order. Barricades have been erected
around the state assembly and secretariat complexes here
while employees had been directed to come to office ahead
of the scheduled time. All schools and colleges in the state
will remain closed and road and rail transport is likely
to be affected. The protest call was given by the Kalinga
Nagar Surakhya Samiti, which had been supported by seven
Opposition parties including the Congress and the Left.
The Opposition had given a call to paralyse the State to
protest the firing and demand the resignation of Chief Minister
Naveen Patnaik. Besides the Congress, the parties supporting
the stir are CPI, CPI (M), OGP, JMM, Janata Dal (S) and
Samajwadi Party.
There
was hectic activity in the State Secretariat on Friday as
the Government increased the ex gratia to be paid to the
next of kin of the victims of Monday's police firing from
Rs 1 lakh to Rs 5 lakh. Chief Minister Patnaik also directed
that a person from each affected family be provided a job
in the government or in a public sector undertaking and
the injured persons should get an ex-gratia of Rs 50,000.
Orissa Government transferred the Jaipur District Collector
Saswat Mishra and Superintendent of Police (SP) Binoytosh
Mishra, who came under fire following the incident with
the opposition parties as well as ruling BJP demanding their
removal from the district Saswat Mishra is transferred as
Joint Secretary in the Agriculture department. His place
of Jaipur District Collector would be taken over by the
present Jagatsinghpur Collector Arabinda Padhee. Binoytosh
Mishra was shifted as SP (crime branch) and he has been
replaced by Angul SP Asit Panigrahi.
A total of 13 people--a policeman and 12 civilians, were
killed when tribals, opposing the proposed setting up of
a steel plant at Kalinganagar industrial hub, had clashed
with the police. The BJP, BJD's alliance partner in the
state, has openly condemned the police firing in Kalinga
Nagar and is not likely to resist the bandh call. The Navin
Patnaik Government in Orissa, smarting under the recent
killing of the tribals in police firing, faced trouble after
its ally, the Bharatiya Janata Party, said on Friday that
it could walk out of the coalition over the incident. BJP
leaders met the State unit head and urged him to walk out
of the alliance. The Biju Janata Dal has drawn flak from
all quarters including its ally after the police firing
killing 12 tribesmen at Kalinga Nagar in Jaipur district.
Taking strong exception to the incident, Juel Oram, president
of the State unit of the BJP, said that the party would
consult national president Rajnath Singh before taking any
step. Patnaik, had however, said he was yet to receive any
communication from the BJP. Orissa's 147-member assembly
has 32 legislators from the BJP and 64 from the BJD. Capitalising
on the public ire against the recent Kalinga Nagar tribal
killing, the Opposition Congress launched a tirade against
the Naveen Patnaik government at a rally attended by the
AICC general secretary Digvijay Singh and the AICC secretary
Chandan Bagchi organised in the city on Friday. Addressing
the "Jana Samparka rally" here, Singh dubbed the BJD- BJP
government as "anti-poor and pro-rich". He also criticised
the state government for its failure to implement the pro-poor
policies of the UPA-led Central government in the state.
Later, talking to reporters the AICC leader also alleged
that the state was being ruled by an ex-bureaucrat at whose
behest the Kalinga Nagar police firing took place. Stating
that his Party would always support the tribal cause, Singh
said that the UPA was thinking of bringing out a policy
and law regarding the tribal land settlement, rehabilitation
and resettlement in the country.
The two-member All India Congress Committee (AICC) team,
comprising Chandan Bagchi, its secretary and Chhattisgarh's
Leader of Opposition Mahendra Karma, on Thursday said Congress
has given a call for bandh in all the three states to take
up the issue in a massive way. Bagchi said the team would
meet the UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi in a day or two and
submit a report. Saying that the Naveen Patnaik-Government
crossed the 'limits of barbarism' and the incident was a
reflection of 'fascism,' both the leaders said the UPA is
going to take up the issue seriously. Stating that Naveen
should have tendered resignation after such an incident,
both the AICC leaders said, the administration had many
options, which it did not exercise. The AICC members trained
the gun at the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) saying it was
equally responsible for the killings of the 12 tribals.
Bagchi said, BJP was hand-in-glove in the barbaric incident
and is adopting double standards by expressing its concern.
Meanwhile, BJD general secretary and panchayati raj minister
Dr Rout has appealed to the Opposition parties to cooperate
with the government in restoring peace in the disturbed
areas, and in the judicial inquiry into the incident. Meanwhile,
Lok Sangram Manch the organisation espousing the cause of
tribals has called for a bandh in southern Orissa on January
11 to protest against the killing of 12 persons in the police
firing at Kalinga Nagar. The state went on a boil after
the police shot and killed 12 tribals after they were attacked
with arrows and stones, killing a constable. The incident
occurred after about 1,000 tribals, some armed with bow
and arrows, opposed a move by authorities to acquire land
for the setting up of a steel plant in Jaipur district.
About 25 people, including four policemen, were also wounded
in the clash. The police had been assigned to protect local
officials who were demarcating the land for the proposed
steel plant. Police said authorities had offered compensation
to the tribes living on the land but they had rejected it.
Police said the land in Jajpur had been acquired by the
government and was to be given to India's largest private
steel producer, Tata Steel Ltd. Foreign and Indian private
steel companies are setting up huge steel mills in the mineral-rich
states of Orissa, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh, but villagers
in these areas complain they are not adequately compensated
for their land.
BJP
to continue supporting Patnaik government in Orissa
New Delhi: Asserting that
the Bharatiya Janata Party would continue its support to
the Biju Janata Dal government in Orissa, the central leadership
of the BJP today turned down demand from some of its members
of Orissa unit to pull out its support from the State government
over tribal-police clash issue. The decision was taken at
a meeting between Orissa BJP chief Jual Oram and party's
national president Rajnath Singh here today. During the
meeting, the party decided that the issues would be resolved
through talks with the Naveen Patnaik-led BJD.
Oram
met Rajnath with a five-page party report on Monday's events
in the wake of demands from some of BJP MLAs and MPs to
pull out of the coalition over Monday's Police firing on
tribal protesters in which ten local tribals were killed.
"This has been a successful coalition. The issue over the
Monday incident has been resolved as Rajnath Singh has spoken
to the Chief Minister (Naveen Patnaik) about the party demands
regarding compensation for the victims. Both parties will
be working towards strengthening the coalition," party spokesman
Prakash Javadekar told reporters. Underlining the importance
of regular meetings between the allies, Javadekar said that
both the parties should be meeting time and again to discuss
and resolve issues. The Navin Patnaik government had been
facing troubles after its ally Bharatiya Janata Party threatened
to walk out of the coalition over the incident. The Biju
Janata Dal has drawn flak from all quarters after 10 tribesmen
were killed in police firing at Kalinga Nagar in Jajpur
district on Monday. The State went on a boil after the police
shot and killed 10 tribals after they were attacked with
arrows and stones, killing a constable. The incident occurred
after about 1,000 tribals, some armed with bow and arrows,
opposed a move by authorities to acquire land for the setting
up of a steel plant in Jajpur. About 25 people, including
four policemen, were also wounded in the clash. The police
had been assigned to protect local officials who were demarcating
the land for the proposed steel plant. Police said authorities
had offered compensation to the tribes living on the land
but they had rejected it. Police said the land in Jajpur
had been acquired by the government and was to be given
to India's largest private steel producer, Tata Steel Ltd.
Foreign and Indian private steel companies are setting up
huge steel mills in the mineral-rich states of Orissa, Jharkhand
and Chhattisgarh, but villagers in these areas complain
they are not adequately compensated for their land.
Back
to Headlines
Go
To Top