Odisha govt. terms semi-nude protest as ‘unfortunate’

Odisha govt. terms semi-nude protest as ‘unfortunate’The Odisha government on Friday termed some women's semi-nude protest during anti-Posco agitation as `unfortunate,' and alleged that certain vested interest groups had pressed innocent women to strip.

Health & Family Welfare Minister Damodar Rout, who also holds small & medium enterprises portfolio, said in the Assembly that some rival political parties as well as NGOs were backing up the protests without knowing the ground realities.

Speaking on the topic, he alleged, He told PTI outside the Assembly, "Innocent women were instigated by certain vested interest groups to strip during the protest yesterday."

He blamed five political parties, viz. CPI, CPI-M, RJD, Forward Bloc and Samajwadi Party, for proving agitations against the Posco's proposed plant in Jagatsinghpur district.

S. K. Mallick, collector of Jagatsinghpur district, also said that some mischief-mongers were behind the cloth-stripping incident. , but the women were chased away before they could stage nude protest.

Posco Pratirodh Sangram Samiti president Abhay Sahu claimed that nearly twenty people were injured in lathicharge; Jagatsinghpur Superintendent of Police Satybrata Bhoi, however, claimed that there was no lathicharge by the police.

Mr. Rout also claimed that the government is not acquiring even an inch of private land; rather it is just trying to free its own land from the illegal possession of some villagers.