Bhubaneswar: Thousands of party faithful and youth activists flooded the streets of the capital city today as the Biju Janata Dal mounted a high-decibel protest against the Centre’s controversial Mines and Minerals Development and Regulation Amendment Act.
Marching alongside party supremo Shri Naveen Patnaik, BJD leader Sujata Rout Karthikeyan delivered an fiery address targeting the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, framing the new central legislation as an existential threat to Odisha’s economic sovereignty and the aspirations of its youth.
Addressing the massive gathering outside the State Assembly following a peaceful march from the party headquarters, Sujata launched a scathing attack on BJP leadership, accusing them of peddling falsehoods to mask the systematic erosion of Odisha’s constitutional rights. She declared that under the transformational leadership of Naveen Patnaik, Odisha experienced unprecedented growth, fiscal autonomy, and mineral-led development. Contrastingly, she argued, the current policies of the BJP-led government are directly snatching away the livelihoods and future prospects of Gen-Z.
The protest highlighted growing regional resentment over central intervention in mineral wealth allocation, with BJD stalwarts reiterating that Odisha’s natural resources belong primarily to its people.
Sujata urged the younger generation to recognize the long-term stakes, asserting that safeguarding the state’s natural wealth and federal structure is vital for regional pride and youth empowerment. The massive turnout signals a renewed political offensive by the regional powerhouse as it mobilizes its grassroots machinery to challenge the central government on core state rights.