BHUBANESWAR: The Opposition BJD and Congress slammed the Union Budget 2026-27, terming it non-inclusive and lacking a clear vision for the development of the country or state.
In a post on X, leader of the Opposition and BJD president Naveen Patnaik expressed disappointment saying it has offered no noteworthy benefits to Odisha. “The anticipation among the people of the state was that the double-engine government would offer a growth momentum with focus on infrastructure, job creation and additional allocation. The state has received very little,” he said.
The BJD president, though, welcomed the proposal to establish the Rare Earth Corridor in Odisha. Stating that Odisha is the leading producer of several key minerals, he said the state will always contribute to nation-building through its rich resources. Referring to the announcement on National Waterways to connect mineral-rich areas and industrial centres to the ports, the former chief minister said it is a decade-old proposal without any progress on the ground.
Naveen also said it was a huge disappointment for the people that the announcement to develop seven high-speed rail corridors between cities as ‘growth connectors’ does not feature Odisha. The BJP government also nipped the Bhubaneswar metro project earlier, he said.
“And, it is quite baffling that the tourism-centric scheme for development of Buddhist circuits has completely skipped Odisha despite having several very important Buddhist sites including the diamond triangle,” the former chief minister said.
Considering the entire Union Budget, it is seen that Odisha is getting allocations only for taking its natural resources away and completely ignored when it comes to resource allocation for benefit of people of the state. “It is time the BJP government in the state takes responsibility for people and ensure they get their rightful dues from the Centre. Odisha and its people deserve more and better from the Union Budget,” the former chief minister added.
Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee (OPCC) president Bhakta Charan Das said the Budget did not have anything for youth, farmers and middle-class. Stating that unemployment has emerged as a huge problem for the people, Das said the budget does not talk about job creation.
Former Union minister Srikant Jena said that the Budget has taken a corporate-driven approach while ignoring the interest of poor and downtrodden people. Not a single development-oriented project has been announced for Odisha. There is only extraction of natural resources from the state for the benefit of other regions, he said.