Bhubaneswar: The BJD Tuesday criticised the Odisha government for adjourning sine die the monsoon session of the assembly four days ahead of schedule and for not holding any debate on an amended mining law, claiming that the ruling BJP was “not interested in discussion” about the legislation.
The Naveen Patnaik party also vowed to intensify its protest over the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Amendment Act, 2026, which allegedly restricts states’ powers to levy taxes on mineral rights and mineral-bearing land parcels.
Addressing a press conference at the BJD’s state headquarters here, party MLA and former minister Arun Kumar Sahoo, former minister Tukuni Sahoo and others expressed gratitude to the people for “extending massive support to the party’s mass protest programme” held Monday.
“The Biju Janata Dal (BJD) has strongly criticised the decision of the state government to close the Odisha Legislative Assembly four days ahead of schedule without accepting the demand for a discussion on the issue of the MMDR Amendment Act,” the party said in a statement.
It appeared that the ruling dispensation was “afraid of the massive public support for BJD’s demand to repeal the MMDR Amendment Act”, it said.
BJD spokesperson Lenin Mohanty said the amended law will cause massive loss to Odisha.
“The state will suffer a loss of Rs 1 lakh crore towards pending tax dues to be collected from the mines. This apart, the state will lose approximately Rs 12,000 crore per annum in mining revenue due to the new legislation,” he claimed.
The BJP countered the claim, saying that the MMDR Amendment Act will benefit the state and not cause any revenue loss.
BJD MLA Arun Kumar Sahoo said the party had submitted a motion seeking a discussion on the matter in the assembly, but the BJP did “not show any interest in holding a debate”.
“Scared of the public support for BJD’s demand to repeal the mining law, the state government adjourned the assembly four days ahead of schedule,” he alleged.
“It is unfortunate that a discussion could not be held in the state assembly on such an important issue as the MMDR Amendment Act concerns the interests of the state,” he told reporters.
He said the BJD would not remain silent on this issue and would launch a statewide agitation.
On the other hand, BJP MLA Tankadhar Tripathy said, “The government was prepared for a discussion over the notice given by the Congress, but the opposition parties created a ruckus and disrupted the proceedings. The government is ready for discussion on any issue in proper format.”
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