Bhubaneswar: BJD chief Naveen Patnaik Monday said he would fight against the MMDR Act “till his last breath” to “safeguard the future of Gen Z”.
Addressing a BJD rally outside the Odisha Assembly demanding repeal of the Mines and Mineral (Development and Regulation) Amendment Act, 2026, he called upon people of the state and political parties to jointly oppose the new mining law, which he said “snatches away the rights of the state”.
The MMDR Amendment Act, 2026, which was passed in August, seeks to restrict states’ powers to levy taxes on mineral rights and mineral-bearing lands.
“This new legislation seeks to snatch the state’s rights over its land and resources. Therefore, I will fight against the MMDR Act until my last breath,” Patnaik, a five-time former chief minister, said.
State BJP president Manmohan Samal criticised the BJD and said, “It always engages in opposing. They also opposed the GST, but later realised its benefits. Had it been a responsible party, it would have engaged in responsible Opposition,” Samal, also a BJP MP, told reporters.
Addressing his first public meeting in Bhubaneswar since the 2024 elections, Patnaik claimed that Odisha would lose crores of rupees in revenue following implementation of the new mining law.
“I call upon all to join hands and oppose the MMDR Act for the future of our Gen Z. Odisha’s future generations will not forgive us if we do not fight against this law which takes away our legitimate rights,” he said and criticised BJP MPs from the state for allegedly remaining silent in Parliament when the MMDR Amendment Bill was passed.
“Why are Odisha’s BJP government and the 20-odd party MPs silent while the state stands to lose thousands of crores of rupees annually due to this Act?” he asked.
Patnaik said the MMDR Act was “no ordinary piece of legislation” and was deeply linked to the rights of the state.
“The people of Odisha are the rightful owners of the state’s minerals and land. It’s unfortunate that such a bill was passed in Parliament without any discussion. To whose interests did Odisha’s 20 BJP MPs remain silent?” he asked.
“The Odisha government also remained silent¦ Out of fear of whom?” he added.
Referring to his letters to Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi over the MMDR Act after its passage in Parliament, Patnaik said he had written to him twice, urging him to convene a special session of the Assembly to oppose the law and pass a unanimous resolution against it.
“But I received no response from the chief minister. I was also surprised that there was no reply to my letters written to the 20 MPs,” he said.
Patnaik had also written to Odisha BJP MPs on August 29, urging them to call for reversal of the new mining law, saying the changes would curtail the state’s powers to levy taxes on mineral rights and mineral-bearing land.
The Leader of Opposition also criticised the BJP government in the state and described the Majhi administration as a “government of denials” and “masters of empty rhetoric”.
Patnaik said the state would suffer an annual loss of thousands of crores of rupees due to the MMDR amendment.
Calling the government’s silence an “anti-Odisha stance”, Patnaik said, “A political party can never be greater than the land itself.”
“Power may come and go, but betraying this land invites eternal condemnation. I warn all that neither Gen Z nor the Odisha people would forgive such actions. I call upon everyone to resolve to prevent the implementation of the MMDR Amendment Act in Odisha,” he said.
Thousands of people, including students, youths, women, tribals, Dalits and farmers from various parts of the state, participated in the rally.
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Senior BJD leaders, including senior vice-president Debi Prasad Mishra, deputy leader of Opposition in the Odisha Assembly Prasanna Acharya, Opposition chief whip Pramila Mallik and others addressed the gathering and demanded rollback of the new mining law.
Bureaucrat-turned-politician Sujata Rout Karthikeyan came down heavily on the BJP MPs whom she alleged were being remote-controlled by the Centre.
She also claimed that the state’s rise in mineral revenue from Rs 5,000 crore to Rs 50,000 crore was the result of Patnaik’s sustained fight for the state’s rightful share and not for the BJP.
“Otherwise, Odisha could have suffered huge revenue losses, like other mineral-rich states such as Chhattisgarh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Karnataka,” she asserted, adding that the fight against the MMDR Act 2026 would reach Delhi to protect the rights and future of Odisha’s Gen Z.
BJP MPs led by the party’s national spokesperson Sambit Patra in a press conference defended the mining law.
“How the BJD leaders know that Odisha will incur losses of Rs 1 lakh crore when the rules and framework for the new law is yet to be framed?” he asked and credited PM Narendra Modi for the increase in the state’s mining revenue from just Rs 5,000 crore in 2013-14 to Rs 50,000 crore in 2024-45.
He claimed that Modi’s reforms in 2015 brought more revenue through mechanisms such as the District Mineral Foundation (DMF) and increased mineral royalty rates for mineral-rich states.
He also dismissed allegations that the new law violates the federal structure or strips the states’ rights.
“There is no bar on states to impose tax, but with certain conditions and in consultation with the Centre,” he said and cited several judicial rulings in regard to non-collection of arrears.