Bhubaneswar: Union petroleum and natural gas minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Monday came out in support of BJD's suspended MP Baijayanta 'Jay' Panda and urged Tata Trusts chairman Ratan Tata to impress upon chief minister Naveen Patnaik to end the ongoing deadlock at the India Metal and Ferro-Alloys (IMFA) plant at Therubali, Rayagada.

"His considered advice to the state government to resolve the issues within the confines of law shall definitely carry a lot of weight and meaning," Pradhan tweeted.

However, the BJD has questioned Pradhan's intention behind raising the issue with Ratan Tata. BJD spokesperson Pratap Deb said: "Industries are facing several problems in the last four years. But Pradhan did not raise the issue then. But it is surprising to know how he could find time to rake up this issue? There will always be a question about his intention."

The Pandas own the IMFA that is facing unrest at its Therubali plant in Rayagada district. Therubali residents have alleged that the IMFA was ignoring local issues. The accused the company of not giving adequate employment to local resident and not involving itself in overall development of the area as part of the corporate social responsibility (CSR). However, Panda, who has lost the confidence of the chief minister because of anti-party activities, alleged that the BJD had engineered the unrest to take political revenge on him and his family.

Raising the issue, Pradhan tweeted: "On a visit to Odisha I take this opportunity to request Shri @RNTata2000 to impress upon @CMO_Odisha, Shri @Naveen_Odisha & the State Government to end the two-week long impasse at the India Metal and Ferro-Alloys (IMFA) plant at Therubali, Rayagada."

Describing Tata as the doyen of industrialisation, Pradhan also tweeted that his presence in the state would boost the morale of industrialists and entrepreneurs when Odisha was eyeing massive investments in future.

However, he tweeted: "The stand-off at Therubali has resulted in a lock-out in plant & has arisen out of State vendetta & misperceived short term gains. This shall send negative signals to industrialisation process & investor climate in the State apart from fomenting Left Wing extremism in Rayagada."

Pradhan also did not forget to raise the issue of how Tata Motors was forced to quit Singur in Bengal in 2008 because of unrest.

"Shri @RNTata2000 would appreciate the situation having experienced a similar one when Tata Motors was forced to quit Singur in 2008 while trying to acquire land for the flagship Nano manufacturing plant," Pradhan tweeted.

Pradhan thanked Tata for partnering with the state government to set-up a cancer treatment and research hospital in Bhubaneswar and also envisioning a model where district-level hospitals would be equipped to provide better cancer care.

Panda reciprocated and thanked Pradhan for taking up the cause of his company.