Besides, most of my staff members are Oriyas," Ramesh said here on Wednesday while speaking at delivering his speech at RMNH. He attempted to strike an emotional chord with the audience by saying at the inaugural function of North-East gallery at the Regional Museum of Natural History (RMNH).
The ministry of environment and forests (MoEF) headed by Ramesh had initially put on hold forest clearance to Posco, and revoked mining license at Niyamgiri bauxite reserve for Vedanta's smelter, evoking serious criticism from the ruling BJD and a few industry associations. A "campaign" was launched depicting him as "villain."
A perturbed Ramesh, during his last Orissa visit Kendrapara in March, said in a public meeting that he was hurt as some people depicted him as a "villain." Stating that he had strong affinity with Orissa and its people, the minister then sought to clarify that he was doing his duty in accordance with law. Read the full report here.
Source: Nageshwar Patnaik, ET Bureau, Economic Times, Bhubaneswar.
