‘CII pull-out a conspiracy’

BHUBANESWAR: The BJD on Wednesday accused the Confederation of Indian Industries (CII) of becoming a tool to thwart industrial development, employment generation and economic growth of the State.

BJD spokesperson and Rajya Sabha member Pratap Deb said abrupt withdrawal of CII from the biennial Make-in-Odisha Conclave 2018 is a glaring instance and it seems to be a conspiracy the way the association pulled out from the event. “What is appalling is that MP Baijayant Panda, suspended from BJD, and his wife Jagi Mangat Panda have managed to use the industry body to settle their political scores at the cost of 4.2 crore people of Odisha,” he said.

Since the event has been planned to be more grand in scale and size as a global event, the CII had come forward to be the lead partner in the event that its own industry members could capitalise on. “But, only days after Jagi Mangat took over as the Chairperson of CII Eastern Region, it made a U-turn citing prior engagements. Did the CII not know of its prior engagements when it agreed to be the lead partner?” Deb questioned. It should reconsider its decision, he added.  

Jagi Mangat has, however, refuted the allegations and requested the ruling party not to drag her into politics. “The party can play politics with Baijayant Panda who is directly involved in politics. I am in business for the past 25 years and we have provided employment to nearly 3,000 people. As Chairperson of CII eastern region, I shall extend full support to make the event a success. BJD should contact the CII Odisha office or the national office,” she said in a statement.