Union tribal affairs minister, Jual Oram has been one of the worst critics of chief minister, Naveen Patnaik. He relations with Naveen became strained soon after the BJP-BJD coalition government in 2005 signed an MOU with POSCO, the South Korean steel behemoth for setting up a 12 million tonne steel mill in Jagatsinghpur district. Jual was not only furious at the favourable terms granted to the South Korean company he was also upset at the possibility of company mining iron ore from Khandadhar , a forested belt and tourist destination that is part of his Lok Sabha constituency, Sundergarh. No wonder he opposed it tooth and nail and company finally exited the state last year. But the bitterness the issue generated between the two leaders still lingers. If they ever happen to run into each other their discomfort is only too obvious to those around.
