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Bhubaneswar: With the ruling BJD launching a three-day state-wide protest against Union Tribal Affair Minister V K Deo's statement favouring shift of East Coast Railway Zone's headquarters from here to Vishakhapatanam in Andhra Pradesh, the Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee (OPCC) on Thursday rejected the idea.
"OPCC is opposed to the idea of shifting the ECoR headquarters from Bhubaneswar to Vishakhapatanam. It may be Deo's personal view," said party spokesman Ashok Samal while OPCC president Jaydev Jena termed the Union Minister's statement as "not-justifed."
Appealing opposition parties not to politicise Deo's statement, Union Minister of State for Chemical and Fertiliser Srikant Jena said: "Deo may have made such statement in interest of his constituency. No one in the Government of India will accept such an idea."
"If I demand to shift capital of India from New Delhi to Bhubaneswar, will anyone accept it," Jena asked ridiculing the BJD's state-wide agitation.
Meanwhile, the leaders and workers of BJD today staged one-hour peaceful agitation infront of all the railway stations in the state protesting Deo's statement. "We will stage peaceful agitations before all the railway stations in the state till September 14," said BJD youth wing president Sanjay Dasburma.
Earlier, Deo in a letter to the A K Antony Committee has suggested shifting of ECoR headquarters from Bhubaneswar to Vishakhapatanam in the event of the formation of the new State of Telangana.
Deo had also suggested that the headquarters of South Eastern Zonal Railways SERly may be shifted to Bhubaneswar from Kolkata as the metropolis houses two Zonal Headquarters of Eastern Zonal Railways and South Eastern Zonal Railways.
