80% villagers ready to give land: Moily

MANGALORE: Union minister for corporate affairs M Veerappa Moily has urged chief minister D V Sadananda Gowda to convene a meeting comprising stakeholders of Mangalore Special Economic Zone (MSEZ), ministers and villagers to discuss about second phase of the SEZ.
Moily said about 80% of the villagers are willing to hand over their land for MSEZ second phase.
“Hence, the chief minister should convene a meeting immediately and discuss the issue soon instead of denotifying the land blindly,” he said, adding that a letter in this regard has already been sent to Gowda.
“The region, which has a sea port and airport connectivity, needs to be developed through industrialization. However, prominence should also be given to environmental issues,” Moily said.
Criticizing Pejawar mutt seer Vishwesha Theertha Swami for intervening in the fight against Mangalore SEZ, Moily said religious leaders should confine themselves to spiritual activities and bless people.
“If they continue to interfere in political matters, then the development of the country will be stalled. Moreover, it will push our country back to the vedic era,” he added.
On a bomb being traced under a culvert at Alampatti in Madurai through which BJP leader L K Advani’s Jan Chetna Rath Yatra was to pass, Moily said Tamil Nadu and central governments had acted immediately and appropriate security will be given to Advani in future.
“Instead of holding a ratha yatra to blame others, let Advani concentrate on his own domain (party), where people are indulging in corruption. Unfortunately, those leaders who point (fingers) at others forget about corruption within the party.
Advani had said he ‘knew everything’, but is also unfortunate that the same leader who spoke against the UPA government did not utter a single word on corruption charges against BJP government in the state,” Moily charged.