Bhubaneswar: Opposition political parties, led by the INDIA alliance, staged a massive rally in Bhubaneswar to protest against the recently passed Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) (MMDR) Amendment Bill. Protesters accused the central government of making hollow claims about national development while pushing policies that cripple state revenues and cause severe damage to the education system. Demonstrators highlighted that Odisha, despite being rich in natural resources, faces systematic neglect under current central policies.
The march began at Congress Bhawan and proceeded to Lower PMG, where leaders condemned the new mining legislation. Speakers argued that the MMDR legislation heavily favors central control, depriving Odisha of revenue amounting to lakhs of crores of rupees. They severely criticized the state government for remaining silent instead of standing up for the economic interests and welfare of the people of Odisha.
Political leaders reaffirmed their commitment to the movement, declaring that no compromise would be made on the state’s natural resources and warning of intensified agitation if the anti-public bill is not repealed. As a mark of protest, agitators burned effigies of Central Leadership.
The demonstration was organized under the leadership of Bhubaneswar District Congress President Prakash Chandra Jena. The event saw the active participation of prominent leaders, including Santosh Singh Saluja, Suresh Kumar Routray, Sura Jena, Mahendra Parida, Pradeep Nayak, Jagannath Patnaik, Ramachandra Khuntia, Shibananda Ray, Hemant Behera, Prabhat Samantaray, Suresh Panigrahi, Jyotiranjan Mohapatra, Biswajit Dash, Chinmaya Sundar Das, Srinibas Routray, Lingaraj Sahu, Himanshu Lenka, Subrat Mohapatra, Saroj Lenka, Shriya Mohanty, Jayakrishna Subudhi, Prashant Champati, Jayakrishna Mallia, Prabhat Pratap Singh, Shriya Panda, Prachi Routray, Ashok Das, Manoranjan Dash, Arayan Mohapatra, Bhagabat Jena, Chandiprasad Mohapatra, Sai Prasad Rao, Deo Prasad, and Debendra Kumar Nayak, alongside hundreds of party workers. The entire protest rally was coordinated under the supervision of Suryakanta Jena and Mihir Acharya.