Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray on Wednesday reiterated his party’s opposition to the the proposed Nanar oil refinery project, as he refused to meet Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Thursday to allay the former’s fears about the contentious project.
Informed sources in the Shiv Sena said that Pradhan had sought an appointment for a meeting with Uddhav on Thursday.
However, the Sena president refused to entertain Pradhan’s request for a meeting with the latter on the ground that the Sena had no plans to renege on its stated opposition to the Nanar oil refinery project.
The strains between the ruling BJP and its alliance partner Shiv Sena over the Nanar project came into the open once again at the Maharashtra Cabinet meeting here on Wednesday morning, when the Sena Ministers lodged their protest with chief minister Devendra Fadnavis for the latter’s failure to
take their party into confidence before signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for investment in the Nanar oil refinery project.
The Sena’s reiteration of opposition to the Nanar oil refinery project came in the wake of the signing of the MoU between Saudi Aramco and Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC)on Monday to invest in the upcoming $44 billion Ratnagiri Refinery and Petrochemicals (RRPCl) in Maharashtra.
After the signing of the MoU with Saudi Aramco and ADNOC, Pradhan had expressed his intention to meet Uddhav to address the Sena’s concerns over the Nanar oil refinery project.
“This is a very ambitious project for India, especially Maharashtra. We are with an open mind discussing all the issues with stakeholders and will continue to do so. I will personally go and explain the project to Uddav Thackeray. There are some genuine concerns. Our companies will try and address those concerns. Fundamentally there is no opposition. There are concerns of farmers which will be listened to and addressed,” Pradhan had said.
Meanwhile, former chief minister and Maharashtra Swabhimani Paksha’s Rajya Sabha member Narayan Rane on Wednesday voiced his opposition to the Nanar oil refinery project, saying that come what may his party - which is a constituent of the BJP-led NDA - would not allow the project to come up in coastal Konkan region.
“Unlike the Shiv Sena, my party would not merely hand out threats but I would resign as the MP, if the Modi government goes ahead with the Nanar oil refinery project,” Rane said, while talking to media persons here on Thursday.
The Shiv Sena, Congress, NCP, MNS and Rane’s party have been opposing the Nanar project since April 11, when an Indian consortium comprising Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), Bharat Petroleum Corporation ltd (BPCl) and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation ltd (BPCl) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Saudi Arabian Oil Co (Saudi Aramco) for setting an oil refinery and petroleum products complex at Nanar in Rajapur taluka of Ratnagiri district.
There have been many occasions when the Sena leaders, particularly Uddhav, had slammed the Modi government and the Centre for going ahead with the Nanar project. On April 23,Uddhav had said: “The BJP (read Fadnavis) is holding out threats to us that if the refinery project is not allowed to come up at Nanar, it will be shifted to Gujarat. If it so desires, the BJP can take the project to Gujarat. But, we will not allow it come up at Nanar”.
Addressing the affected people at Nanar, Uddhav had charged that a major land scam had taken place a Nanar ahead of the Centre’s announcement to locate the oil refinery project at Nanar. “With prior information that the project is coming up at Nanar, Gujaratis and Marwadis have purchased large tracts of land in and around this village. Why did these people corner huge land at NanarIJ There is a huge scam in the whole land deals. land sharks are involved in this,” he said.
Uddhav had exhorted the farmers of Nanar to take a pledge that they would not sell theirland for the oil refinery project.
Indirectly hitting out at Fadnavis for insisting on locating the oil refinery project in Konkan region, the Sena chief had said: “By thrusting this project, we will not let destroy the eco-sensitive Konkan region. If such a thing happens, we will destroy you. The people of this village and also neighbouring villages are solidly behind the Shiv Sena in opposing the project”
On that day, Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis had dismissed Shiv Sena’s Industries Minister Subhash Desai’s claim that the state government had annulled the original chief minister Devendra Fadnavis dismissing a Sena minister’s claim that the state government had annulled the land acquisition notification for the Nanar project.
“Whatever Desai has said is not the state government’s opinion. It is his personal opinion. The notification permitting the land acquisition has not been cancelled as been stated by the minister concerned. Only a high-power committee headed by the chief secretary can take such decision (to cancel the notification). As far as the state government concerned, we will take whatever decision that is interest of Maharashtra in general and Konkan region in particular,” Fadnavis had said.