New Delhi, March 30 -- Biju Janata Dal (BJD) leader and Rajya Sabha MP Sasmit Patra has criticised the decision of ArcelorMittal and Nippon Steel to move their proposed steel plant from Odisha to Andhra Pradesh, calling it a "very sad and shameful development" and asserting that steel production should take place in Odisha itself.

In an exclusive conversation with ANI, Patra said that the project was originally planned for Odisha when former Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik had travelled to Japan and signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Nippon Steel.

"It is a very sad and shameful development that the ArcelorMittal Nippon Steel plant, which was originally planned for Odisha, is now being shifted to Andhra Pradesh," Patra said. ...