Naveen Asks BJD MPs To Strongly Demand Special Category Status For Odisha In Budget Session Of Parliament

Bhubaneswar: BJD president Naveen Patnaik on Tuesday told the party MPs to raise their voice strongly for special category status to Odisha in the Parliament during the Budget Session.

Presiding the BJD Parliamentary Party meeting at Naveen Niwas in Bhubaneswar, Naveen told the seven Rajya Sabha members to be the voice of Odisha in the Parliament. Each of the MPs should fight for the rights and dignity of 4.5 crore people of Odisha, he added.

Speaking about the issues to be taken up by the BJD MPs during the Budget session, Naveen asked them to take up the issue of Special Category status for Odisha as the most important issue.

He also advised them to raise the issues of rising prices and inflation besides high unemployment and rising joblessness.

The MPs were also told to highlight the distress condition of the farmers in Odisha and Polavaram and Mahanadi disputes besides coal royalty issues.

In health sector, establishment of full-fledged AIIMS Hospitals in Sambalpur, Koraput and Balasore (not satellite units) like in Bhubaneswar should be demanded. Similarly, the state’s demand for scheduled tribe (ST) status for some communities, which has been pending with the Centre, needed to be raised by the MPs, said Naveen.