Bhubaneswar, August 22: Even as his partymen were opposed to Rahul Gandhi’s proposed visit to Niyamgiri area where Vedanta is planning a mining project, Orissa Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik today said Congress leader was free to tour anywhere.
“It is entirely up to him (Rahul) to go where he pleases,” Patnaik told reporters here.
Patnaik’s statement on Rahul’s visit on August 26 came a day after Kalahandi district unit of ruling BJD announced its decision to oppose the Congress leader’s visit.
“We will oppose Rahul’s visit,” BJD’s Kalahandi district president Balabhadra Majhi had said yesterday, adding the Gandhi must clarify as what UPA government had done for the tribals.
Rahul Gandhi’s visit was considered as “totally political” in wake of the Saxena panel recommendation against the proposed mining by Vedanta at Niyamgiri.
–Agencies