BJD president and former Odisha Chief Minister 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 in the Upper House of Parliament during the upcoming session beginning on Thursday.
Patnaik, during the meeting, asked the lawmakers to raise issues concerning the state's interests in a befitting manner.
Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Sasmit Patra, BJD leader in Rajya Sabha said, "The BJD MPs this time will not be confined to speaking on issues only, but are determined to agitate if the BJP-led government at the Centre ignores Odisha's interest."
Patra said that the BJD MPs will raise the demand for special status to Odisha, poor mobile connectivity and low density of bank branches in the state.
"Odisha's demand for revision of coal royalty has been ignored by the Centre for the last 10 years. This is causing great loss to the people of the state who are deprived of their rightful share," he added. Patra said Patnaik has given clear instructions to fight for the rights of the state's people in the Parliament.
When asked whether Naveen Patnaik's party would maintain its earlier stance of giving issue-based support to the NDA government, the party leader said, "No more support to BJP, only opposition. We may go to any extent to protect the interests of Odisha."
"There is no question of supporting the BJP. The BJD president asked us to act as a strong and vibrant opposition if the NDA government continues to ignore the genuine demands of Odisha," Patra told PTI.
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 with the BJP bringing an end to its government of 24 years.
The BJD not only supported the BJP in Parliament on different issues over the last few years but also helped Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw get elected to Rajya Sabha in 2019 and 2024.