New Delhi: Undeterred by the resistance from within the ruling UPA (United Progressive Alliance) and Opposition parties, Coal and Mines Minister Shibu Soren today (June 06 2004) asserted there was "nothing wrong" in his proposal to shift Coal India headquarters (CIL) from Kolkata.

Soren, who had recently proposed moving the headquarters of CIL and Damodar Valley Corporation (DVC) to Ranchi in Jharkhand said that it was a legitimate demand of the people of Jharkhand to have the headquarters of these corporations in their State.

Soren has been under fire from his cabinet colleagues, including Water Resources Minister P R Dasmunshi, besides Trinamool Chief Mamata Banerjee over the proposed move.

Asked about the Opposition to the issue, Soren remarked, "There was nothing wrong in moving the headquarters."

"It is the legitimate demand of the people of a State to have the head offices of corporations located in that state from where the resources are extracted," he added.

The Minister saw a BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party) conspiracy in the controversy over the issue. When asked about the strategy he would adopt, particularly in the backdrop of Opposition from within the Cabinet, Soren said a proposal was being drafted but refrained from committing whether he would raise the matter at today's Cabinet meeting.