Congress leader Rahul Gandhi today congratulated the tribals of Lanjigarh for what he called their “victory” in the fight to save the sacred Niyamgiri hills in Kalahandi district.
"Your voice reached Delhi and you saved your land. I did what I could, but this is your victory," Rahul said addressing a rally of tribals at Jagannathpur near Lanjigarh. The “victory” rally was held to mark the Tribal Rights Day, just two days after the Union Ministry of Environment and Forest (MoEF) rejected the environment clearance and denied stage-II forest clearance to a bauxite mining project of Orissa Mining Corporation (OMC) and Sterlite Industries, a Vedanta group company at Niyamgiri.
“This is the victory of the local tribals who have been waging their struggle in a non-violent manner”, he observed. Sporting a beard and dressed in trademark white kurta and pyjama, Gandhi told the gathering that the government at the Center was working for the common people. “We had promised you in 2004 that there'll be a government for the aam aadmi and we gave you that."
In his last visit in 2008, he had said, "For the tribals of Kalahandi, there’s a soldier in Delhi named Rahul Gandhi” and said, "My work isn’t finished, it’s begun. Whenever you need me, I’m ready to stand with you”. Rahul said, tribals had then told him that they worshipped the Niyamgiri hills and their God was being snatched from them. “This reminded me of my dharma to ensure that every voice of the poor and adivasis is heard”.
Gandhi said, “Some people say that rejection of the Vedanta project was anti-development. But it’s not true. Development can’t take place by snatching away the voices of the poor and the tribals”. He urged the Orissa government to take cue from Delhi, Haryana and Andhra Pradesh where development has been equitable.
