Odisha CM launches 19 industrial projects worth Rs 2,675 cr
Bhubaneswar, May 28: Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Monday launched 19 industrial projects with an investment of Rs 2,675 crore, which will create employment opportunities for 8,953 persons.
The Chief Minister performed the ground-breaking ceremony for 12 new industrial projects and inaugurated seven projects through video conferencing here.
Patnaik said that two of the projects for which the ground-breaking ceremony was organised on November 16, 2017, were inaugurated on Monday and would go into production in about six months time.
"This underscores the number one position of the state in the country in terms of Investment Implementation Rate," he added.
"Odisha has a vision of becoming the most preferred investment destination in the country. Towards that end, we have devised the Odisha Industrial Development Plan Vision 2025 to set up more manufacturing industries in focus sectors with an investment of Rs 2.5 lakh crores, generating employment for 30 lakh people," said the Chief Minister.
In the aftermath of the Make in Odisha Conclave 2016, the first ground-breaking ceremony was held in November, 2017 for 15 manufacturing units with investments worth Rs 11,690 crore with scope to generate 8,187 jobs.
"The Make in Odisha Conclave in 2016 was an important milestone in our journey of industrial development and helped generate investment intents in diverse sectors, other than the traditional areas of mines, metals and energy," said Patnaik.
"To ensure that the investments intents received during the conclave are converted quickly, my government has worked with a dedicated focus to ensure that all required support such as land, utilities and Departmental clearances are made available to them expeditiously," he added.
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Trouble ‘Miyas’ everywhere only then they will leave Assam: Himanta Biswa Sarma
Says “Himanta Biswa Sarma, BJP are openly against them, we are saying it openly
New Delhi: Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Tuesday said that four to five lakh “Miya voters” would be removed from the electoral rolls in the state once the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voter lists is carried out. He also made a series of controversial remarks openly targeting the Miya community, a term commonly used in Assam in a derogatory sense to refer to Bengali-speaking Muslims.
Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of an official programme in Digboi in Tinsukia district, Sarma said it was his responsibility to create difficulties for the Miya community and claimed that both he and the BJP were “directly against Miyas”.
“Four to five lakh Miya votes will have to be deleted in Assam when the SIR happens,” Sarma said, adding that such voters “should ideally not be allowed to vote in Assam, but in Bangladesh”. He asserted that the government was ensuring that they would not be able to vote in the state.
The chief minister was responding to questions about notices issued to thousands of Bengali-speaking Muslims during the claims and objections phase of the ongoing Special Revision (SR) of electoral rolls in Assam. While the Election Commission is conducting SIR exercises in 12 states and Union Territories, Assam is currently undergoing an SR, which is usually meant for routine updates.
Calling the current SR “preliminary”, Sarma said that a full-fledged SIR in Assam would lead to large-scale deletion of Miya voters. He said he was unconcerned about criticism from opposition parties over the issue.
“Let the Congress abuse me as much as they want. My job is to make the Miya people suffer,” Sarma said. He claimed that complaints filed against members of the community were done on his instructions and that he had encouraged BJP workers to keep filing complaints.
“I have told people wherever possible they should fill Form 7 so that they have to run around a little and are troubled,” he said, adding that such actions were meant to send a message that “the Assamese people are still living”.
In remarks that drew further outrage, Sarma urged people to trouble members of the Miya community in everyday life, claiming that “only if they face troubles will they leave Assam”. He also accused the media of sympathising with the community and warned journalists against such coverage.
“So you all should also trouble, and you should not do news that sympathise with them. There will be love jihad in your own house.” He said.
The comments triggered reactions from opposition leaders. Raijor Dal president and MLA Akhil Gogoi said the people of Assam had not elected Sarma to keep one community under constant pressure. Congress leader Aman Wadud accused the chief minister of rendering the Constitution meaningless in the state, saying his remarks showed a complete disregard for constitutional values.
According to the draft electoral rolls published on December 27, Assam currently has 2.51 crore voters. Election officials said 4.78 lakh names were marked as deceased, 5.23 lakh as having shifted, and 53,619 duplicate entries were removed during the revision process. Authorities also claimed that verification had been completed for over 61 lakh households.
On January 25, six opposition parties the Congress, Raijor Dal, Assam Jatiya Parishad, CPI, CPI(M) and CPI(M-L) submitted a memorandum to the state’s chief electoral officer. They alleged widespread legal violations, political interference and selective targeting of genuine voters during the SR exercise, describing it as arbitrary, unlawful and unconstitutional.
