Disappointed at Continued Neglect of Odisha: Naveen Reacts on Union Budget

Bhubaneswar: Biju Janata Dal President and Leader of Opposition (LoP) Naveen Patnaik on Tuesday expressed his disappointment at the continued neglect of Odisha in the Union Budget.

Reacting to the Union Budget 2024-25 presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, LoP Naveen Patnaik said that the NDA government has been at the Centre for more than 10 years now and every Budget talks of focus on Eastern India, including Odisha. There has been nothing substantial for Odisha over the years and this Budget has also been a disappointment for us.

Lots of big promises in different sectors were made to the people of Odisha during the election campaign especially on agriculture, MSME and industry. There is no mention of any promise being fulfilled in this Budget. This is a complete neglect of Odisha and her people, Naveen said.

In a statement, the BJD President has categorically highlighted various sectors where Odisha has been neglected by the Centre in the Union Budget.

He said, “The BJP had put special category status in their manifesto as a promise to the people of Odisha, however, this promise has not been considered for Odisha, whereas special packages, allocating crores of funds have been announced for Andhra Pradesh and Bihar. Along with this, the demand of Odisha for revision of coal royalty, which has been pending for years with the central government has been rejected, because of which the state will lose thousands of crores of revenue every year”.

“We all know that Odisha faces a number of natural disasters every year, including floods. We had requested for a special package for disaster management. While similar requests of other states have been considered and they have been granted Special packages for flood protection, the genuine demand of Odisha on disaster management has not been considered. So on both counts whether it is special package or revision of coal royalty, Odisha continues to be neglected by the NDA”, Naveen said.

Today, the most serious issue being faced by the common public is inflation/price rise, and unemployment. This Budget does not have any considerable intervention to address these two major issues, he further said.

“We have been fighting for Justice in the Polavaram issue. Allocating more and more funds for Polavaram without sorting out the genuine grievances of Odisha shows impartiality against Odisha”.

“I would say that, along with the people of Odisha , I feel disappointed at the continued neglect of Odisha while the state contributes so much to the country”, Naveen concluded.