After raising the demand of Special Category Status (SCS) to Odisha before Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his visit to the State on February 7 to dedicate the IOCl refinery, the ruling BJD on Sunday decided to reiterate it during the Budget Session of the Parliament beginning on Tuesday.
This was decided at the BJD Parliamentary party meeting held under the chairmanship of BJD supremo and Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik at the Naveen Niwas. Notably, Patnaik had raised the SCS demand before Modi in Paradip. Besides, the party also decided to put forth its other demands during the session.
“Party MPs have been asked to pursue timely completion of repair and restoration works of the lord Jagannath Temple in Puri with the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) and the concerned Ministries, release of dues pending towards drought of 2015, cyclone Phailin of 2013, non-release of Central share towards completion of five new medical colleges, and modification of existing rice and wheat allotment ratio to suit the needs of the National Food Security Act (NFSA) beneficiaries,” Patnaik told reporters after the meeting.