Newly formed political outfit Utkal Bharat accused the Bharatiya Janata Party of practicing double standard with regard to establishment of POSCO steel project in Orissa.

Mr Kharavel Swain former BJP MP and Utkal Bharat president said the BJP is creating confusion about the POSCO’s INR 52,000 crore foreign direct investment proposal for gaining political mileage. The former BJP stalwart and close confidant of Mr LK Advani resigned from the party alleging large-scale corruption and nepotism practised by senior leaders.

Mr Swain at a press conference said that “When the BJP was itself a partner in the BJD-led state government in 2005, its leader Biswa Bhusan Harichandan was industry minister. It is during Mr Harichandan’s stint, the memorandum of understanding for the 12 million tonne steel plant was signed. Now that the party is out of power, it is opposing the project.”

Mr Swain made it clear that the BJP was attempting to misguide the public by feeding wrong information about the project.

Stating that the Orissa lacked development because of inadequate focus on industrialization, the Mr Utkal Bharat president said that once POSCO project was commissioned, it would greatly contribute to the enrichment of the state economy. He added that “POSCO project is a boon for us. It’s going to contribute to the state exchequer around INR 300,000 crore revenue over a period of 10 years.”

He said that “There is a huge gap between the national and state per capital incomes. If we want to bridge this gap, we have to step up our industrial activities and encourage projects like POSCO with maximum possible support. Opposition political parties need to cooperate with such ventures to see that the state progresses.”

(Sourced from ET)