In Orissa, I had fought for the rights of tribals in Niyamgiri and I am happy we won the battle

Rahul Gandhi accused the Naveen government of siphoning of funds meant for Centrally sponsored schemes under Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) and mid-day programme of Sarva Sikshya Abhiyaan (SSA). The benefits have not reached the beneficiaries under these schemes in the state, he said and referred to the CBI probe into MGNREGA irregularities in six districts and dal scam to make his point in this regard.


Stating that Orissa is not a poor state as it is endowed with huge mineral resources like iron ore and bauxite, Gandhi said, people of the state are poor as they have not benefited from the mining activities. Minerals are directly exported, which is wrong, he observed.

Comparing the land acquisition problems of the Posco project in Orissa with Bhatta-Parsaul in the UP, Gandhi said, he is not against any development or project if the rights of poor people hit by the project are protected. “We do not have problem with any project. But there is problem with the end issue, compensation and rehabilitation of tribal and poor people. The poor should get benefit of the project, the locals should get employment and tribals should be comfortably rehabilitated”. He said, his party has prepared 30-point agenda for the Posco project and if these are complied, there will be no problem in implementation of the project.

Referring to his just concluded padayatra in Uttar Pradesh following allegation of forcible land acquisition there, he said, the new land acquisition bill, which will be tabled in the Parliament will benefit the poor and backward people who have a stake in the development. “In Orissa, I had fought for the rights of tribals in Niyamgiri and I am happy we won the battle”.

Addressing the media earlier in the day, Gandhi had described the state government as corrupt, but added the problem was more with implementation. He, however, said, the level of corruption here is not at par with the Uttar Pradesh government, which is the most corrupt state in the country.

Giving instances of Congress-ruled states, Gandhi pointed out that poor people in Maharashtra, Delhi, Haryana and Andhra Pradesh were getting direct benefits from the developmental programmes while they were denied such facilities in state like Orissa. "MGNREGA, MDM and other schemes are working in full swing in Andhra Pradesh while CBI is probing rural job scam in Orissa," he said asking people to oust the "corrupt" BJD government in order to help the poor to come out of poverty. UPA governemnt was planning to bring Right to Food Bill, Rahul Gandhi said and wondered if it could be properly implemented in Orissa. "I fear whether the Orissa government can implement the food rights perfectly," he said. Dubbing the ruling BJD as a government for rich people', Rahul Gandhi asked the gathering to spread the Congress message in villages in order to oust the state government for a better tomorrow. Earlier in the day Gandhi participated in two youth interaction programmes at Khurda and Bhadrak where he asked young men and women to join Youth Congress to change the fate of the state. "Congress means development of poor, tribals, dalits, backward and minorities," Gandhi said.

What we are against is the pushing aside of poor people because they are poor. If the tribals are pushed aside, we have a problem with that

A day after serial blasts rocked Mumbai, Rahul Gandhi on Thursday ruled out complete eradication of terror attacks in the country but said the UPA government had been successful in controlling such violence to a large extent.



"It is very difficult to stop every single terror attack in the country. Terrorism is something that is impossible to stop all the time. But 99 per cent of terror attacks had been stopped due to strong vigilance and intelligence efforts," the Congress general secretary told the media on the second day of his visit to Orissa.



Rahul added that the UPA government had "promptly" responded to the return of terror attacks in India's financial capital. "The government's response was prompt. The Union home minister is leading the response. We are responding to the violence in a quite organized fashion," said Rahul, who was on a two-day tour of Orissa to urge youths to join the Congress.



The Congress leader, however, stressed on the need for initiating all-out efforts for total elimination of terrorism in the country. He said, "99 per cent of terror attacks have been stopped. We have improved by leaps and bounds. But we have to work and defeat 100 per cent of attacks. The idea is to fight terrorism at the local level." He also conveyed his condolences to all the families affected by Wednesday's explosions which has left 18 persons dead and 131 injured.



Reminded that there was no terror attack in the US after the 9/11 strike whereas India often faced the menace, Rahul said, "The US forces are facing terrorist attacks in Afghanistan."



The Gandhi scion also said the Prime Minister should not be brought under the Lokpal's purview. "If the Lokpal bill is imposed on the Prime Minister while he is in office, you open him up to constant engagement which will be unhealthy for the leadership of the country," he said. "The Prime Minister needs to lead the country and he needs to focus on running the country. I have my concerns over bringing him within the Lokpal's purview while holding office," he said, while describing it as his personal opinion. "The Prime Minister should come under the ambit of the bill the day he left office," he added.



Speaking about the troubled Rs 52,000 crore Posco steel project in Orissa, Rahul drew a parallel with Uttar Pradesh and suggested that the solution could lie in setting it up on non-agricultural land. "My issue on Posco is the same as my issue on Bhatta Parsaul in Uttar Pradesh. What is happening in UP is the transfer of land from the poor to rich people. As far as infrastructure is concerned ... we do not have a problem. We have a problem with the compensation level," he said.





"Our main issue is what the people are going to get at the end. Are they going to be rehabilitated in the company?" Gandhi asked saying that the poor should not be pushed aside.





The Orissa government, he said, has to fulfill 30 conditions set by the Centre on the Posco project, he said.





"If Orissa government fulfills the 30 point programme and we feel the tribals are comfortable and happy with the outcome, that is good. If the tribals are pushed aside, we have a problem with that," Rahul said.



"What we are against is the pushing aside of poor people because they are poor."



The Naveen Patnaik-led BJD government in Orissa came under fire from the Congress leader for "not implementing" centrally-funded schemes and corruption. "It is not a problem of central funds which are abundant. The problem basically relates to corruption and non-implementation of centrally-funded schemes," he told reporters.



Rahul alleged that though Rs 35,000 crore was provided by the Centre to Orissa, the funds were not utilized properly as the BJD government failed to implement various schemes and programmes. Describing the rural job scheme MGNREGA as a dynamic and powerful tool for the uplift of the poor, Rahul claimed that the Orissa government had failed to properly implement it.



Speaking about the membership drive by the Youth Congress, he said youths were joining it in large numbers. Rahul also claimed that the Congress could return to power in the state. "I am confident that the Congress can come to power in Orissa," he said.

Same ruling party in state & Centre for speedy progress: Rahul

"The Centre has never neglected any non-Congress ruled state including Orissa," Gandhi said while responding to a question of a student during an interactive session in Berhampur University.
"Do not worry about elderly persons. The door is open for youths. Let youths join politics in larger numbers," the Congress general secretary said during an interaction with students at Saheed Bhavan in Cuttack.

"Our Prime Minister is an elderly person, but he works like a youth," he said while replying to a question on elderly persons occupying positions in political parties.

Voicing confidence that youth could bring change in politics and also contribute in nation building, Gandhi said the elders were never a hindrance for them.

Today evening while me along with my friends were sitting near the parking area of the beach which is on the beach near Panthanivas Hotel, a police jeep arrived and the officer in it said “Why are you all sitting here? You were told not to sit here? There were problems arising because of you people sitting here”. Then I along with my friends dispersed from there. I don’t know what kind of order is it. Is this order legal? Why we were told to not sit there which is a public place to sit and relax. What kind of preventive measure it is! There were complete darkness at the beach, and the local government is not doing anything about it. And there is no police men also in this side of the beach to maintain security. Shame on Orissa government. Shame in the name of development which it is claiming. Will filing a Public Interest Litigation help? Will it help to evict the part of the beach which is encroached by the some hotels who considers this beach as their father’s property?

My religion is to consider each person of this great nation as one, whether he is rich or poor, Adivasi or Dalit . And wherever that persons voice is curbed, wherever his rights are snatched, that's against my religion.

My religion is to consider each person of this great nation as one, whether he is rich or poor, Adivasi or Dalit
And wherever that persons voice is curbed, wherever his rights are snatched, that's against my religion.

Some says this is against development, but here Adivasis voice were suppressed, but it reached everywhere, so its not against development, its development.

"Development does not mean curbing the poor, the tribals and the backward. We are for development, but we will never curb the voice of the people," he said.


Wearing a beard and dressed in trademark white, Gandhi said amid loud cheers, "We promised you in 2004 that there'll be a government for the aam aadmi (common man) and we gave you that." (See Pics: Rahul in Orissa)

He recalled his words from a visit two years ago when he had said that, "For the tribals of Kalahandi, there is a soldier in Delhi named Rahul Gandhi." And added, "My work is not finished, it's begun. Whenever you need me, wherever, I am ready to stand with you.

On his last visit in 2008, Rahul said, some tribal youth had told him that they worshiped the Niyamgiri Hills and that their God was being snatched from them. That he said, was their "dharma." His dharma, Rahul said, was that "every voice, including that of the poor and adivasis should be heard.'

The rejection of the Vedanta project, he said, was not anti-development. "Development means that every citizen of India develops...Our government in Delhi, our PM, Sonia ji will fight for development and to give you a voice.

Czechoslovak couple attacked on Puri beach

While there is good electrification in one part of the beach, the other part is completely dark. This part of the beach is absolutely unsafe for tourists. The local government is blindfolded to all these issues. People of Orissa need to elect honest and able leaders to address these issues. Because here politicians bring nasty politics in between everything. They don't care when people suffer.

Orissa Introduces E-Registration of Land

"Chance of unauthorised sale of land will drastically come down with beginning of the e-registration project", Patnaik said while naming the project as "Dharani".

Besides helping people to get documents relating to sale and purchase of land within 45 minutes, Patnaik said this could help in monitoring land transfer of tribal people.

Handle communal elements firmly: DGP Praharaj tells cops

"It is the duty of the police to instil a sense of security and confidence among the people," he said. He cautioned the officers against possible "misuse" of communal riots by criminals and extremists. The alacrity and patience of the force are very important under such volatile conditions," he added.


Special administrator for Kandhamal district Madhusudan Padhi said, "The problem must be nipped in the bud. Unless the root cause of the tension is detected and removed, it may raise its ugly head once again."

NFCH secretary Lalit Kumar said, "The police come in direct contact with the people more often than most other government functionaries. Especially in places that are so volatile, their contact is even more frequent and close. In such a situation, interaction must come with vision, understanding, tact, compassion and empathy towards the people and their cause. This will not only raise the public esteem of the police, but also lead to a healthy police-public relationship. It will also secure the desired measures of public involvement and co-operation in promotion of communal harmony."