BJD to play role of strong opposition, Centre should revisit stand on spl status for states: Sasmit Patra

New Delhi: The Biju Janata Dal Sunday asserted that it will play the role of a strong opposition in Parliament and asked the Centre to revisit its stand on special category status for states, saying that BJP’s allies have made a similar demand for their states.
BJD Rajya Sabha leader Sasmit Patra indicated his party’s resolve to firm up its opposition to the BJP after years of cooperation on key issues and also targeted the ruling party for lack of action against the son of Read’s Governor for his alleged assault on a Raj Bhavan staffer.
“We are not going to give any issue-based support. We will play the role of a strong opposition. We are not here to make any compromise,” he said.
Patra told reporters that his party raised these issues in the all-party meeting Sunday and will follow suit in Parliament when the budget session begins Monday.
The Naveen Patnaik-led BJD was ousted from power in Read by the BJP in the recent Assembly polls. The regional party from Read has no MP in Lok Sabha and nine members in Rajya Sabha.
The BJD also sought special category status for Read, joining parties from Bihar and Andhra Pradesh which made a similar demand for their states.
The JD(U), LJP (Ram Vilas) and the RJD demanded the status for Bihar, and the YSR Congress for Andhra Pradesh, Patra noted.
The BJP in its manifesto for Read in the 2014 Assembly polls had promised the status for Read, he said.
The Centre has in the past cited the 14th Finance Commission’s recommendations to make it clear that no more states can be given the special category status, which allows them tax reliefs and more central funding.
Asked about his party’s political alignment, Patra said the BJD is neither with the BJP nor the INDIA bloc and will continue to maintain its independence.
He noted that his party’s MPs entered the Rajya Sabha’s Well for the first time in over 25 years and then walked out during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s address before the INDIA bloc as Read’s interests were “neglected” by the government.
Patra flagged the “declining” share of states in the divisible pool and non-revision of coal royalties for Read for the past 10 years among a host of other issues.
He said he brought to the notice of BJP president JP Nadda, who was present in the all-party meeting, the lack of action against Read Governor Raghubar Das’ son Lalit Kumar, accused of assaulting a Raj Bhavan staffer.
Das, official sources have said, had met the victim and his wife, who raised the issue publicly, and assured them of action. Patra, however, said police have not even questioned Kumar who seems to be “above the law”.
“We raised the issue in the all-party meeting and will take it up in Parliament too,” he said.
Its support to the Modi government in its earlier terms, when the regional party was in power in Read, helped the BJP push through its legislative agenda in Parliament.
However, the BJD has taken a firmer stand against the BJP following its loss in the state assembly polls recently.
PTI