BJD MPs will raise issues pertaining to Odisha's development: Naveen Patnaik

Bhubaneswar (Odisha) [India], June 24 : Biju Janata Dal President Naveen Patnaik on Monday said that his party's MPs will raise all the issues pertaining to Odisha's development and the welfare of the people of the state. He was speaking at the BJD Parliamentary Party meeting held here and attended by all the nine MPs of the party.
"Be the voice of 4.5 crore people of Odisha in the Parliament. We will be a very strong and vibrant opposition and will make the Centre accountable on all issues. The BJD MPs will raise all the issues pertaining to the state's development and the welfare of the people of Odisha. Many just and rightful demands of Odisha haven't been met. We must ensure that those demands are met in right earnest by the Centre," Naveen Patnaik said at the meeting.
The extensive meeting of the Parliamentary party deliberated on the various demands that have been pending for the state of Odisha, said a press release issued by the BJD.
It was decided that the BJD would take up the long-standing demand for Special Category State for Odisha. BJD has been fighting for it over the past many years. The State has been facing natural disasters and needs to be accorded Special Category State. In fact, Odisha BJP had also specified it in its election manifesto in 2014 but did not do it, the press release said.
The party said that National Highways situation in Odisha is bad. Massive delays in NH projects in Odisha and poor NH maintenance. NH projects like Cuttack-Sambalpur National Highway are causing great pain to the people. No work has started on Coastal Highway for the past ten years. It could have helped the economic development of Odisha but sadly nothing has happened, the BJD said.
If the Odisha Capital Region Ring Road near the Odisha Capital city Bhubaneswar had been done, the capital region would have grown more rapidly with it but there is no development in this regard despite our repeated demands. The BJD MPs would raise the demand for completion of all these incomplete National Highway works, said the party.
There are several pending demands of State such as demand for increasing coal royalty for Odisha which has not been increased for the past almost 10 years. This is causing great loss to the people of Odisha who are deprived of their rightful share for using it in their development. BJD will raise that apart from the demand for approval for all pending irrigation projects including Mahanadi projects inside Odisha, the press release said.
It would also demand that Ahimsa should be included in the Preamble of the Constitution which was unanimously resolved in the Odisha Legislative Assembly and as proposed by the then CM and BJD President Naveen Patnaik. It would also demand immediate implementation of 33% reservation for women in the Parliament and State Legislative Assemblies, said the party.
The BJD Party President asked all the MPs to keep serving the people of Odisha and keep working for the development of 4.5 crore people of the State.