The Naveen Patnaik-led BJD party has been supporting the BJP in Parliament on various occasions all this time. But the Biju Janata Dal, which has announced that it will no longer support the BJP, has announced that it will run as a strong opposition party in Parliament.
With the Biju Janata Dal having a total of nine MPs in the Rajya Sabha, they were consulted by former Odisha chief minister and BJD party chief Naveen Patnaik.
Naveen Patnaik: Meanwhile, Odisha BJD leader Naveen Patnaik issued an action announcement after the meeting. Declaring that there is no more support for the BJP, he also announced that his party’s MPs will act as a strong opposition in Parliament.
Naveen Patnaik, who announced no support for the BJP, also said that his party MPs will act as a vibrant and strong opposition. He also asked Odisha to voice the interests of the state and raise people’s issues in Parliament.
What’s the plan: Speaking to reporters after the consultation meeting, senior BJD Rajya Sabha leader Sasmit Bhadra said, “BJD MPs should not stop talking about issues this time. They are ready to shut down the House if the BJP government at the center ignores Odisha’s welfare.”
We will continue to raise the demand for granting special status to Odisha. Telecom service in the state is poor. Many areas do not even have bank branches. Odisha MPs will surely raise questions regarding these too.
Royalty: For the last 10 years we have been demanding royalty for the coal extracted from our state.. But BJP has been ignoring it for so long. The right to be available to the state is being denied. People of Odisha are facing huge loss due to this.
The nine Biju Janata Dal MPs in the Rajya Sabha will now form a strong opposition. Naveen Patnaik has given clear instructions to fight for the rights of the people of the state in Parliament,” he said.
No support: Earlier Biju Janata MPs had supported the central government on various issues. Asked whether he would continue to support the same issues, Patra said, “BJP is no longer supported. We will only act as an opposition party. We will go to any extent to protect the interests of Odisha. After so much has happened, there is no question of supporting the BJP. We will only be an opposition party. We will speak for the people of Odisha.”
Odisha: Naveen Patnaik’s BJD now has nine MPs in the Rajya Sabha. Meanwhile, in the recently concluded Lok Sabha elections, the BJD failed to win a single ticket. This is the first time since the creation of Odisha as a separate state in 1997 that the BJD has not won a single Lok Sabha seat.
Assembly elections were also held in Odisha along with the Lok Sabha elections. Biju Janata Dal was in power there for the past 24 years, but the BJP defeated them in this election. Notably, the Biju Janata Dal not only supported many laws brought by the BJP but also helped elect Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnav as an MP.
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