BJD party workers stage a demonstration at Bhubaneswar railway station on Thursday to protest against the proposal to shift the East Coast Railway headquarters from the state capital. Picture by Sanjib Mukherjee

Bhubaneswar, Sept.12: The BJD today began its three-day agitation with demonstrations at railway stations across the state to protest against the Centre’s proposal to shift headquarters of the East Coast Railway from Bhubaneswar to Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh.

Union tribal affairs minister V. Kishore Chandra Deo had proposed the shift.

In Bhubaneswar, party workers, led by MLA Ashok Panda, staged a peaceful dharna in front of the railway station for an hour. In Cuttack, MLA Kalandi Charana Behera led the demonstration, while in Balasore, it was the party’s women’s wing president Pramila Mallick. Berhampur MLA Ramesh Chandra Chaupatnaik and Bhubaneswar mayor Ananta Narayan Jena staged the demonstration in front of Berhampur railway station.

“The Congress-led UPA has hatched a conspiracy against Odisha. We will give them a fitting reply,” said Ashok Panda.

In Cuttack, Behera echoed his concern. “The Centre has not yet accorded special category state status to Odisha despite our repeated requests. Now, they have made another decision that goes against Odisha’s interests,” Behera said.

On the other hand, the Congress today reiterated that Deo’s proposal had nothing to do with the Centre. “It is like someone suggesting that India’s capital should be moved from Delhi to Bhubaneswar. Deo has raked up the issues keeping his constituency in mind. It has nothing to do with the Government of India,” said Union minister of chemicals and fertilisers Srikant Jena.

Pradesh Congress Committee president Jaydev Jena said: “The party will certainly protest against any proposal of shifting the headquarters from here to Visakhapatnam.”

Jena also demanded that the regions of the state that were left out from the East Coast Railway zone be brought within it immediately. “The BJD has never made any attempt to constitute a larger east coast zone and many regions are left out,” he alleged.

The CPM also protested against Deo’s proposal to move the headquarters of the East Coast Railway. “The Centre should rein in his ministers, so that they refrain from making such statements,” said CPM state unit secretary Janaradan Pati.

Deo today once again attempted to clear the air on the issue. “The whole thing has been misunderstood. The South East Railway headquarters will be shifted to Bhubaneswar first and then the East Coast Railway headquarters will be moved to Visakhapatnam with the Vijaywada division under its control. This will benefit both Odisha and Andhra Pradesh. I have no intention to hurt the sentiments of the people of Odisha.”