Thaindian News

Mumbai, April 21 (IANS) Congress’s Industry Minister Narayan Rane Thursday locked horns with the Shiv Sena by alleging that some corporate houses have offered Rs.5 billion to the saffron party to oppose and scuttle the Jaitapur nuclear power project.

Making the sensational allegation in the Maharashtra assembly, Rane said the 11 corporate houses - whom he did not identify - apprehended that they would be compelled to lower power tariffs on electricity produced by them if the 9,900-MW Jaitapur Nuclear Power Project was implemented.

“They had approached a particular political party. As per our information, that political party is Shiv Sena and the matter is being probed,” Rane declared to vociferous protests from the opposition benches.

Rane further said that the Sena’s public rally in Jaitapur, which was originally scheduled for April 3 was postponed by six days (April 9) after it secured an ‘advance’ on the alleged deal.

He sarcastically remarked that (Sena) party leaders have gone on vacation after collecting the money, referring to Sena executive president Uddhav Thackeray who is on a holiday at Kanha National Park since this week.

Sena group leader who was not present when Rane made the utterances, rushed inside and denied the allegations. They demanded that Rane submit proof of his allegations and also sought that the remarks be expunged from the assembly records.

Bharatiya Janata Party’s Opposition Leader Eknath Khadse and BJP state president Sudhir Mungantiwar also raised objections to Rane’s statements.

Former opposition leader Ramdas Kadam also dismissed Rane’s allegations as “baseless” and challenged him to give proof.

Kadam pointed out that in the past, Rane had made allegations that some political leaders were aware of the Nov 26, 2008 Mumbai terror attacks. However, even at that time, he failed to substantiate his allegations, Kadam said.

Earlier, the minister, a former chief minister of the Shiv Sena, has termed the Sena agitation against Jaitapur as ‘anti-development’ and against the interests of the people of the backward Konkan region.

Outside the assembly, Sena MP and spokesman Sanjay Raut dismissed Rane’s allegations as “a conspiracy to defame” the anti-JNPP movement.

Raut said the anti-JNPP protests have now become a mass movement in the Konkan region.

“The ground is slipping from underneath Rane’s feet and Congress is finished in Konkan. So he keeps making such statements,” Raut said.

It may be recalled that after Union Minister for Environment & Forests Jairam Ramesh declared the centre’s intentions of implementing the JNPP, the Shiv Sena had adopted an aggressive stance in its opposition to the project.

A few days ago, Shiv Sena executive president Uddhav Thackeray had asserted that the party “would not allow JNPP to come up” in a public meeting in the region.

On Monday, several hundred Sainiks attempts to barge into the JNPP site and police resorted to caning them.

Later that afternoon, in Sakhri-Nate coastal village, protestors were fired at by the police, resulting in the death of one activist, followed by a Ratnagiri shutdown call which saw sporadic incidents of violence last Tuesday.