Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi, addressing a farmers’ rally in New Delhi on Sunday, said he had been approached by the Dongaria tribals in Niyamgiri to protect the hills. The Gandhi scion said that during his visit to Niyamgiri in Kalahandi district, the tribals had personally met him and requested him that the Niyamgri hills should not be handed over to Vedanta for mining.
He was told that the tribals could not live without Niyamgiri. They also made him aware how Dongarias worship the hills like God, he added. “One of the Dongarias had met me in a closed room and said that they would become Maoists if Niyamgiri is taken away from them,” said Rahul.
Notably, former Congress leader Jayanti Natrajan while quitting the party had slammed Rahul Gandhi for stalling some mega mining projects in India including Niyamgiri in Odisha. later, in an election rally in New Delhi, Rahul had accepted a part of Natrajan’s claims and said, “I told Jayanthi Natarajan to protect the environment and the tribals.”