National Spokesperson of the BJP, Sambit Patra, castigated the State government for the Supreme Court ruling.
Vedanta University land acquisition issue was a hot issue for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Thursday. In a statement, BJP national spokesperson Sambit Patra blasted the State government for its failure to comply with the Supreme Court’s ruling.
Taking up the appeal of the Orissa High Court, the Supreme Court ruled that the land acquisition process in the project would be temporarily suspended. As a result of the ruling of the Supreme Court, the proposed project has been prohibited from acquiring 10,000 acres of land for its construction. Vedanta was fined Rs 5 lakh by the Supreme Court for its actions in Odisha.
According to the agreement, Vedanta acquired 10,000 acres of land from the state government. There are two rivers flowing through that patch of land. It is illegal under the Indian Constitution for the private company to own the rivers.”
The State government was also targeted. The Vedanta University proposal has been effectively shelved for good by senior Congress leader Jayadev Jena. In order to help Vedanta get that land, the State government moved the Supreme Court. It is a matter of great satisfaction for us that the Supreme Court upheld the ruling of the Orissa High Court.”
Vedanta, however, is denied undue sympathy by the ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD). Announcing that she would oppose every move made by the government, Minister Pramila Mallik told reporters. People will complain no matter what we do to improve their lives. Therefore, their approach is the same here as well. State government will choose the direction of the state for its development.”
Orissa High Court had earlier in 2010 ruled that land acquisition for the university was quashed and the owner of the land should be repaid.
Vedanta University project at Puri was later saved by the Odisha government and the Anil Agarwal Foundation. An agreement was signed in 2006 between the Odisha government and Vedanta Foundation.