Bhubaneswar: The BJD is set to up the ante over its demand for repeal of the amended mining law passed by Parliament recently, with month-long foot marches planned across Odisha from October 2 as part of its public outreach on the issue.
The opposition party’s supremo Naveen Patnaik would launch the programme in Bhubaneswar October 2, while other leaders would reach each village and every household across the state, the BJD said in a statement Wednesday.
Addressing a press conference here, BJD senior vice-president Debi Prasad Mishra said the Jana Samparka Padayatra will continue till November 2.
“Party functionaries will visit every household and reach out to the people, highlighting the failures of the double-engine BJP government. They will tell the people how this government’s new mining law stripped the state of its rights and denied its genuine claim to Rs 1 lakh crore as arrears from the mining companies,” he said.
“Farmers, youth, students, women, tribals, Dalits, minorities and people from all sections of society have been victims of betrayal. Atrocities against women are increasing as the law-and-order situation deteriorates,” he said.
The BJD leader also alleged that the BJP-led Union government has undermined the country’s federal structure through the passage of the Mines and Minerals (Development & Regulation) Amendment Act, 2026, in Parliament in August and curtailed Odisha’s economic rights.
“The people of the state are remembering the development trajectory of Odisha during the tenure of Naveen Patnaik as chief minister. There is considerable public resentment against the double-engine government,” he said.
Mishra said the marches will be organised at the headquarters of the party’s all 34 organisational districts, as well as in every block. The BJD will continue to work to the people’s voice, he added.
Under the amended mines law, the Centre seeks to take under its control the regulation of mineral-bearing lands containing mineral deposits in accordance with parameters prescribed under the legislation.
Opposition parties in Odisha have alleged that the law “snatches the rights” of mineral-rich states and weakens their financial autonomy.
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