Chief Minister and BJD supremo Naveen Patnaik on Saturday told his party MPs to follow up various issues relating to Odisha in both the Houses of the Parliament. “We had as detailed discussion on how the BJD MPs would follow up various issues in the Parliament for the benefit of our State,” Patnaik told reporters after a meeting with the party’s lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha MPs at his residence Naveen Niwas here.
He, however, ruled out any differences of opinion among the MPs on the issues over Central apathy towards Odisha. “We will continue with our programmes,” he added. BJD Parliamentary Party leader in the lower House Bhartruhari Mahtab said, “We will place our view for the benefit of the State in the Budget discussion on March 13.”
Terming this on-off affair to be a media creation, BJD lok Sabha MP Baijayant Panda said, “We are playing the role of a constructive opposition. However, some people in the media get confused at times.”
“We had our demands on land acquisition bill in lok Sabha. The same will continue,” he said. Balangir MP Kalikesh Narayan Singh Deo said his party has objections to many clauses of land Acquisition Bill. “We had also moved amendments in lok Sabha and will do the same in Rajya Sabha,” he informed.