BJD to raise demand for women reservation bill, special state status in Parliament Monsoon session

Ahead of the monsoon session, the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) held its parliamentary party meeting on Tuesday.

As per reports, in the meeting chaired by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, the party discussed issues to be raised in the Parliament in the upcoming session.

Addressing the meeting, Patnaik said, “The latest Niti Aayog report suggests that Odisha is among the five states that witnessed the sharpest decline in multi-dimensional poverty. Multi-Dimensional Poverty in rural areas has declined from 32.64 percent in 2015-16 to 17.72 percent in 2019-20. We are right on track to achieve all our goals. However, we are not getting the kind of support from the Government of India we should get in a system of cooperative federalism.”

“The PM Awas Yojana was blocked for four years by not opening the Awas Plus Portal. After repeated requests, we received sanctions only for 8 lakh houses when the actual requirement is 15 lakh,” he said.

“Despite repeated requests, 18 percent GST has not been removed from Kendu Leaves. Women’s Reservation in the legislative set up of the country is a much talked about issue which the centre has forgotten,” he said.

“Besides, Odisha is facing constant neglect in the transfer of state-share and central funds. Our demand for ‘Special Focus State’ should be stronger and louder,” Patnaik exhorted.

The upcoming Monsoon Session of the Parliament will start on July 20 and continue till August 11. The session will be held in the new parliament building, marking a significant milestone. It is expected to have 15 sittings.