We will not tolerate oppression of locals for Barsu project: Maharashtra Congress

Maharashtra Congress chief Nana Patole on Tuesday said that they wonrsquot tolerate the oppression of the locals for the Barsu projectldquoA survey is being conducted using the police force for the refinery project at Barsu in Ratnagiri district The Congress party is strongly criticising this police oppression Who wants to achieve development against the will of the locals and by using the police force Imposing projects without taking the locals into confidence is a dictatorship and under no circumstances will this oppression by the state government be toleratedrdquo he saidNana Patole has given a stern warning that if the locals are harrassed for the Barsu Refinery then the Congress party will not tolerate itWhile taking a dig at Bharatiya Janata Party BJP he said that the BJP is not for the welfare of the people but is against farmers youth women workers and peopleldquoCongress is not opposing development but if there is a project that will destroy the locals if the locals are against that project a way out can be found through dialogue with themAlso Read Its Maun ki Baat over Adani issue Congress ahead of PM Modis Mann ki BaatIf there are any doubts in the minds of the people about the refinery project why is the BJP government not clearing the doubts What kind of survey do you take the police force with you This bully dictatorship will not be allowed to continue We all stand with the local people of Konkan The ShindeFadnavis government in the state who are the agents of ModiShah in Delhi do not pay attention to the interests of the people of Maharashtra Why did those who are using police force to impose the Barsu Refinery project did not use this force to stop projects like Vedanta Foxconn and Tata Airbus when they were being handed over to Gujarat If such readiness had been shown at that time lakhs of youths of Maharashtra would have got employment but the BJPled Shinde government which was working at the behest of Delhi broke the Maha Vikas Aghadi itself at that timerdquo he saidPatole also said that a decision should be taken for the Barsu refinery by taking the locals into confidenceMaharashtra Congress legislature leader Balasaheb Thorat asked the state government to stop the police action against protestors and the land survey process for the proposed oil refinery at BarsuSolgaon in Ratnagiri district He alleged that the government was misusing the police machinery to threaten and pressurise villagers and activists opposing the projectSpeaking about the refinery project at Barsu Balasaheb Thorat said ldquoHundreds of trees in Mumbais Aarey were cut in the dark yesterday amid police protection While these incidents are fresh the police have started cracking down on the local residents who are opposing the Barsu Refinery which threatens to destroy the environment of the region While all these things are going on in Maharashtra the Chief Minister has gone on vacation and the Deputy Chief Minister is not ready to utter a word Whose interests are involved in Barsu Refinery It is wrong to harass people in the name of development If the local people are against the refinery why is the government not talking to themrdquo Thorat askedHe further said that 14 citizens died in the Maharashtra Bhushan award ceremony due to the governments blunder ldquoDoes the government want to kill the farmers by oppressing them while they are protesting at Barsu Thorat also said that the Shinde Fadnavis government should stop this bullying immediatelyrdquo added