Bhubaneswar: The Biju Janata Dal (BJD) has strongly criticised the ruling BJP government for allegedly taking credit for a project initiated during the previous Naveen Patnaik administration.
The party described the re-inauguration of the JSW Steel Plant at Gadakujang in Dhinkia-Nuagaon under Paradip Assembly Constituency as an attempt to mislead the people of Odisha.
Addressing a press conference at Sankha Bhawan on Thursday, BJD spokesperson and Media Coordinator Lenin Mohanty said the foundation stone for the JSW Plant had already been laid and the project inaugurated during former Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik’s tenure in February 2024. An agreement for the plant was signed under the “Make in Odisha” initiative, he noted.
“It is condemnable that the present BJP government is trying to claim credit for a project brought to the state by the previous BJD government,” he said.
He called the move “highly laughable” and accused the government of playing politics with people’s emotions, particularly the youth, by making exaggerated claims about employment generation and industrial development.
He demanded that the government provide clear data on how much actual investment has arrived in the State and how much has been grounded on the field, instead of making tall claims of investments worth lakhs of crores.
Mohanty stated that while the BJD, as the main Opposition party, would welcome genuine new investments because they generate employment opportunities, the current government should refrain from making false claims and taking credit for earlier work. He alleged that in the name of industrial development, the Industries Minister was more focused on his “personal development,” a matter reportedly being discussed locally in the project area.
Highlighting the State’s law and order situation, Mohanty warned that deteriorating conditions were driving industries away from Odisha. He pointed to a sharp rise in incidents of rape, gang rape, and atrocities against women, along with increasing mob violence due to alleged police inaction.
Citing the latest NCRB report, he claimed Odisha now ranks first in the country in this regard. “Investment flows where there are raw materials, good leadership, and a stable law and order environment. Instead of rebranding old projects, the Chief Minister should prioritize restoring law and order,” he added.
The spokesperson also criticized the government for spending lakhs of rupees from the state exchequer on foreign and domestic tours by the Chief Minister, ministers, and secretaries in the name of attracting new investments.
However, Industries Minister Sampad Swain highlighted the event as translating two decades of anticipation into reality, particularly noting the site’s history involving the earlier stalled POSCO project.
The plant is being built in the Dhinkia area of Paradip, the exact land parcel originally granted to the proposed South Korean POSCO project before it was shelved.