Bhubaneswar: The Biju Janata Dal members of Parliament have decided to raise the demand of special category status for Odisha and several other issues during the winter session of Parliament which is scheduled to commence December 11.
A BJD Parliamentary Party meeting presided over by party chief and Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik chalked out the strategy to be adopted by the party MPs during the session.
“The party will demand special status for Odisha in both the Houses of Parliament,” said BJD spokesman and MP Pratap Deb after the meeting held at Naveen Niwas here Sunday.
Deb said the BJD was opposed to the Centre’s stand that special category status could not be accorded to any state as per the recommendation of Niti Ayog. “The norms can be changed as the state deserved to get the special category status,” Deb told reporters.
He said the party MPs will raise several issues including 33 per cent reservations for women in Parliament and state Assemblies and would demand financial assistance for cyclonic storm Titli-hit districts in the Odisha during the session.
Stating that the meeting resolved to remind the Centre of the state’s contribution to the railways, the projects in Odisha were being delayed.
“We will lay emphasis on the Central negligence towards Odisha,” said BJD Rajya Sabha MP Soumya Ranjan Patnaik after the meeting.
Apart from special category status and women reservation matters, the BJD MPs will raise issues like Polavaram, Chhattisgarhs barrage on Mahanadi, SC/ST scholarship funding pattern change, state’s demand of running a special train in name of Bauxi Jagabandhu and farmers issues during the session, he said.