Bhubaneswar: Odisha MPs Urged to Fight for State's Rights in Parliament
BJD President Naveen Patnaik has urged his party’s MPs to be the voice of Odisha in Parliament and advocate for the rights of the state’s 4.5 crore people. The appeal was made during a meeting with BJD parliamentarians ahead of the upcoming budget session. Patnaik, who is also the chairman of the BJD parliamentary party, emphasized the importance of protecting the dignity and interests of the people of Odisha.
He specifically asked the MPs to prioritize the demand for special category status for Odisha, calling it the most critical issue. In addition, Patnaik instructed them to raise other pressing matters such as price rise, unemployment, farmers’ issues, and the Polavaram project. He also highlighted concerns over the Mahanadi water dispute, coal royalty, green tax on coal, national highway and coastal highway projects, healthcare, tribal development, GST on kendu leaves, and improvements in rail and telecom connectivity.
The BJD MPs expressed their gratitude to Naveen Patnaik for his leadership, which they credited for Odisha’s recognition as the number one state in fiscal management for the year 2022-23, as per a Niti Aayog report. The BJD currently has seven members in the Rajya Sabha, although it faced setbacks in the last Lok Sabha elections.
