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BJD president Naveen Patnaik on Monday held a meeting with his party’s nine Rajya Sabha MPs and asked them to emerge as a “vibrant and strong” opposition during the upcoming session of the Upper House of Parliament beginning June 27.
In the meeting, Patnaik asked the MPs to raise issues related to the interests of the state in a proper manner.
Speaking to reporters after the meeting, party leader in Rajya Sabha Sasmit Patra said, “This time, BJD MPs will not limit themselves to only speaking on issues but are also determined to launch an agitation if the BJP-led government at the Centre ignores the interests of Odisha.”
He said apart from raising the demand for special status to Odisha, the BJD MPs will also raise the issue of poor mobile connectivity and less number of bank branches in the state.
He said, “Odisha’s demand for revision of coal royalty has been ignored by the Central government for the last 10 years. Due to this, the people of the state are suffering huge losses and are deprived of their fair share.”
Patra said the nine MPs in the Rajya Sabha will act as a strong opposition. He said Patnaik has given clear instructions to fight for the rights of the people of the state in Parliament.
When asked if the BJD would stick to its old stand of giving issue-based support to the BJP-led government, he said, “Now there is no support to the BJP, only opposition. We can go to any extent to protect the interests of Odisha.”
Later, Patra told PTI, “There is no question of supporting the BJP. The BJD president told us that we should work as a strong and vibrant opposition if the NDA government continues to ignore the genuine demands of Odisha.”
The BJD has nine MPs in the Rajya Sabha, while it failed to win any seat in the recently held Lok Sabha elections for the first time since its formation in 1997.
The BJD also lost power in the state and the BJP ended its 24-year-old government.
The BJD has not only supported the BJP in Parliament on various issues over the years but also helped Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw get elected to the Rajya Sabha in 2019 and 2024.
In a meeting with senior BJD leaders on Sunday, Patnaik had said, “You all know that the BJP has got four seats more than the majority in the Odisha Assembly. It does not have a majority on its own even at the Centre. Therefore, you should work hard, stay united and strengthen the party.”
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This story has been published from a wire agency feed, no changes have been made to the text. Only the headline has been changed.
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Published: June 24, 2024, 09:15 PM IST
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