Title - Deo's statement sparks protest in Odisha

Union Minister of Tribal Affairs V K Deo's demand to shift East Coast Zonal Headquarters (ECoR) of the Railways from here to Vishakhapatanam sparked protests in Odisha with the ruling BJD announcing agitations and BJP criticizing it today.

Deo in a recent letter to A K Antony headed committee, which is looking into the demand for a zonal headquarters of Indian Rails, has suggested to shift the headquarters of ECoR to Vishakhapatnam.

The union minister while speaking to a local TV channel yesterday argued that Vishakhapatnam was situated at the Centre of the east coast between Kolkata and Chennai.

Deo also suggested that the South Eastern Zonal Railway Headquarters should be shifted from Kolkata to Bhubaneswar as "by no stretch of imagination can Kolkata be said to be any part of the South Eastern region."

Terming Deo's statement as a conspiracy against Odisha, Finance Minister Prasanna Acharya today said "I can't understand what the need for such a proposal is. We strongly condemn it and we'll raise voice if the Centre moves ahead with the idea."

BJD Youth Wing President Sanjay Dasburma announced that the party workers and supporters would hold peaceful one-hour agitation before all railway stations in the state on September 12, 13 and 14. "The people of Odisha will not tolerate such an idea of Deo as they have got the ECoR after a long struggle," he said.

"This is a conspiracy of the BJD and the Congress who have a tacit understanding to raise frivolous issues to divert people's attention from serious matters," a release issued by the state BJP said