In fact, the stand off between the villagers and the police continued for the second day on Saturday at the site in Jagatsinghpur with leaders from various political parties also reaching the spot apprehending violence.
With the PMO weighing heavy in the case, Ramesh had given a nod to the project, going against the recommendations of three committees - two of them set up on his express orders and the third a statutory clearance authority.
Congress tried to score a political point or two by demanding that BJD should refrain from 'forcible' eviction of the residents of the two villages, but it played blind to UPA's own tactic to leave it to the state government to deal with any local dissent unlike in some other cases.
In three previous cases, the environment ministry had intervened to suspend clearances when violence occurred at private projects. Read the full report here.
Source: Nitin Sethi, TNN, New Delhi.
