Mumbai: Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Vinayak Raut on Wednesday visited Barsu in Rajapur taluka of Ratnagiri district to meet villagers to convey his party’s stand on the proposed oil refinery and petrochemical complex at the site, even as NCP supremo Sharad Pawar in Mumbai said the government should speak to those opposing the project.
When Uddhav Thackeray was the chief minister he had written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi supporting the project.
Protests still on in Barsu
Raut, who represents Ratnagiri-Sindhudurg parliamentary constituency in the Lok Sabha, reached Barsu on Wednesday where villagers are protesting against the project. Though the villagers allowed the process of soil testing to begin on Tuesday after much persuasion and use of force by the government, some of them are still conducting protests.
“I saw a huge police presence as we came here. Why are the police from all across the state being brought here? Does the government want to suppress people’s voice? Are they not the sons of the soil?” Raut asked after his visit to the village.
The MP accused the government of trying to threaten the villagers. He also said that he met the villagers and appraised them of his party’s stand on the issue. There has been confusion over the letter written by Thackeray to the PM recommending Barsu as an alternate site for the proposed refinery, he said. “We told them that the Shiv Sena (UBT) shall always be with the locals,” he said.
Press Conf in Mumbai over NCP's stand
Meanwhile, Industries Minister Uday Samant called on Pawar, after which the NCP leader addressed a press conference in Mumbai. “I had a meeting with the industries minister. He told me that government officials are scheduled to have a meeting with villagers on Thursday. We will assess the outcome of their meeting and then finalise our party’s stand on the issue,” Pawar said.
“We are pro-development. But if the local people are not happy, the government needs to take note of their sentiments,” he added.
“I asked Uday Samant whether force was used on the protesters in Barsu. He told me that the government didn’t use force. He also told me that the government is only doing soil testing there and the land survey has still not started. I told him that the government should not be in a hurry and also discuss the issue with the locals,” Pawar added.
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