MUMBAI, Aug 11: Deputy chief minister Gopinath Munde's reported move to put off the much-publicised open debate on the controversial Enron project has come under fire from the National Alliance of People's Movement (NAPM). A statement by the organisation said his repeated attempts to escape the debate was unjustified.

The debate was scheduled for July 26 at Guhaghar and the participants opposing the project had already reached the site only to know that Munde was not to come. Later, the debate was carried out without the opposite side being present. This is the second time that the State has sought postponement of the debate.

Meanwhile, Munde also ruled out the possibility of further debate with Medha Patkar. A letter from the Deputy Chief Minister's office informed the NAPM that the government would be willing to discuss the matter only with the locals. In reply to the letter, NAPM said that as far as Enron was concerned the entire country was local.

Earlier, in a statement the NAPM and Enron Virodhi Sangharsh Samity announced their plans of intensifying the agitation against the project. NAPM leader Medha Patkar said the locals had decided to observe August 9 to 15 as the ``Enron Quit India Week''.

Copyright © 1997 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.