New Delhi, Nov 24: The Biju Janata Dal (BJD) MPs will raise the demand for special category status for Odisha in this winter session of Parliament that commenced on Monday.
"In the all-party meeting in the Parliament House, the Biju Janata Dal placed many issues related to Odisha and its development... The most prominent issue is the demand for special category status for Odisha. Parliament members of the BJD will raise them. It has been a long pending and the centre has not provided it," BJD MP Sasmit Patra said.
The BJD MPs will also raise the issues of the Polavaram Project, the Mahanadi River water dispute, and the need for the revision of coal royalty, Patra said.
"We will raise the issues of Polavaram Project and the Mahanadi River water dispute. It has been long standing and the Centre is completely silent on it. Apart from that coal royalty has not been revised in the last ten years and Odisha has lost almost ten crore rupees because of it. And we will demand the revision of it," he said.
Meanwhile, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju asserted that the union government is "ready to discuss any topic" while calling for a peaceful session of Parliament.
The winter session of Parliament began on Monday and will continue till December 20.
