September 07, 2008

TATA Steel plant supporters stop protest march by CPI

IANS reported that supporters of the proposed TATA Steel plant in Chhattisgarh forcibly stopped Mr Gurudas Dasgupta, a leader of Communist Party of India, from leading a protest rally near the plant site. Mr Dasgupta was scheduled to head an anti TATA protest march in Bastar district where it has a INR 100 billion investment deal to set up an integrated 5 million tonne per annum plant in Lohandiguda block under Chitrakote assembly segment.

Mr Manish Kunjam former CPI legislator and a local tribal leader said that “Besides a march, he was scheduled to attend a meeting of farmers in the district affected by the TATA Steel plant in the district but hundreds of plant supporters and state's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party supporters as well a section of opposition Congress cadres did not allow him to enter Jagdalpur.”

Mr Kunjam said that “The supporters stopped Mr Dasgupta's convoy at Bhanpuri close to Jagdalpur city and rejected his plea that he wanted to lead a peaceful march against blind industrialization of mineral rich Bastar at the cost of driving out indigenous tribals from their native farm lands.” He added that plant supporters forced Mr Dasgupta to return to Raipur.

It is noted that the supporters have recently formed Bastar Vikas Manch under the guidance of Bastar MP and BJP leader Mr Baliram Kashyap to flush out people from Bastar opposing industrialization and development.