BJD roars in Odisha, but keeps mum on BJP in Parliament
BHUBANESWAR: Ruling Biju Janata Dal may have been training its gun on rival Bharatiya Janata Party in the State but when it comes to key national issues in the Parliament, it appears to go soft.
Even after sweeping elections across the urban and rural landscapes with historic mandate, the regional party maintained a stoic silence on burning issues of fuel prices hike and essential commodities which left the Parliament proceedings disrupted.
When Congress, Trinamool Congress and other Opposition political parties raised the fuel price hike and demanded discussion, the BJD members did not participate in either of the houses. This has led to speculation about a tacit understanding between the BJD and BJP.
The ruling outfit’s stand is quite in contrast to the days before the 2014 elections when the party used to take aggressive stand against fuel price hike. It had also launched statewide agitation and called for hartal. However, the BJD’s change in stand over the years appears to have severely compromised its policy of equi-distance with the BJP and Congress.
A BJD MP requesting anonymity said party members raised several issues pertaining to the interest of the state. However, as the issue of price rise was raised by Congress, TMC and others, BJD members did not participate in discussion.
The BJD members also supported contentious bills like the Criminal Procedure (Identification) Bill, 2022 during discussion in the house.
“The issues to be raised by the members on any day are decided in consultation with the leadership. We have hardly any say,” said the MP. Not just that several members participated in the bills brought by the Centre and supported the legislations. Interestingly, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik had met MPs in the Central Hall of Parliament and discussed about the issues to be raised in both the houses.
Similarly, failure of BJD MPs in defending the stand of the State government on Jagannath Temple Heritage Corridor project in the Lok Sabha also showed the party in a poor light. Puri MP Pinaki Mishra had to clarify on his statement in the house as the stand of the government was exposed during discussion by BJP MP Aparajita Sarangi.
After 2019, the BJD has supported several controversial bills in Parliament to bail out the Centre including the triple talaq and the citizenship amendment bill, both of which are now legislations.
The lone Congress MP from Odisha, Saptagiri Ulaka says there is nothing equi-distance in BJD’s stand. “The ruling BJD is supporting BJP on every controversial issue,” he added.