How Naveen Patnaik plans to revive BJD using mining Bill

“For 24 years, I guarded Odisha’s interest. Even though many parties assumed power at the Centre, no one dared to undermine Odisha’s interests. In 2024, you brought the BJP to power in the state. Everything has changed within two years. Odisha now is at the Centre’s mercy,” said Patnaik in a video message on Wednesday.

Patnaik’s outburst came days after he wrote to Odisha CM Mohan Charan Majhi seeking an all-party meeting and a special session of the Assembly to oppose the recently passed legislation.

What are Bill’s provisions

The Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2026, passed on August 13, prohibits state governments from levying any tax, cess or similar levy on mineral rights or mineral-bearing lands, except in accordance with conditions or restrictions prescribed by the Centre. It also seeks to invalidate certain unpaid or unrecovered dues relating to such levies from before the amendment came into force.

The Bill came two years after the Supreme Court, in July 2024, upheld the power of states to levy taxes on mineral rights and mineral-bearing land. The court also allowed states to collect tax arrears from April 1, 2005 onwards. Odisha expected a massive financial gain considering its rich mineral resources.

Patnaik had earlier called the move a “serious threat to the state’s fiscal autonomy and Constitutional rights” over its natural resources and claimed that it would disproportionately impact mineral-rich states like Odisha, leading to massive revenue losses and stifling its developmental agenda.

‘BJP MPs did not fight for Odisha’

Targeting the Centre for passing the “crucial legislation” without any debate, the BJD president said his party MPs opposed the Bill in the Rajya Sabha. He also questioned the silence of BJP MPs from Odisha.

“Twenty of the state’s 21 Lok Sabha MPs are from BJP. But no one raised their voice for Odisha’s interests… Only the BJD strongly opposed the Bill in Rajya Sabha,” said Patnaik, whose party has no Lok Sabha MPs.

Invoking his late father and former CM Biju Patnaik’s emphasis on “financial autonomy” of states for rapid development, Patnaik said the Bill would severely impact the state’s resource base.

“We will lose thousands of crores every year. The money could have been spent in building schools, colleges and hospitals in Odisha. Road, bridge and power infrastructure could have been built. New welfare schemes would have been implemented benefitting the farmers and poor people,” he said.

In what could be seen as an attempt to reach out to Gen Z through his video message, the 79-year-old former CM asked if Odisha could bear such a colossal loss. “What answer will we give to our future generations? What will be the future of Gen Z?” he asked.

Regional pitch

The BJD, as a state-rooted party, has long built its political narrative around protecting Odisha’s interests and portrayed itself as a counterweight to the two major national parties — the BJP and the Congress. It also helped the party gain electoral success as it ruled the state for 24 years.

As many in the BJD believe that the party’s growing bonhomie with the BJP after Narendra Modi first became Prime Minister in 2014 was among the reasons for its loss of ground, resulting in its defeat in the 2024 Assembly and Lok Sabha polls, insiders said Naveen’s recent pitch is an attempt to regain lost confidence.

“The BJD used to launch political fights and agitations against successive Union governments over several issues like special category status, railway grant, Polavaram and Mahanadi issues. Things started changing after regime change at the Centre in 2014, but the narrative completely changed after 2019. The BJD was called a trusted ally of BJP outside the NDA fold,” said a BJD veteran.

The leader said the BJD not only chose to remain silent on issues impacting Odisha’s interests but also extended support to the NDA government on crucial occasions, including the presidential polls in 2017 and 2022, and during the passage of contentious legislations.

“The growing bonhomie at the top leadership level definitely impacted BJD’s prospects among several other reasons. A political narrative gained traction among voters that electing BJP both at the Centre and state might be more beneficial for Odisha. It triggered a change in the 2024 polls despite BJD’s massive organisation and popularity of its leader,” said the leader.

Strategy change

Now that the BJD has been facing a crisis after its defeat in the 2024 polls, with its cadres massively switching sides to the BJP at the grassroots, BJD insiders said Patnaik’s recent combative posture marks an attempt to reclaim political space for the party.

“No one is bigger than the interests of Odisha and its people. We must come together not for any political party but for the interest of our state,” Patnaik said. He also appealed to people to join the fight.

Narrating how the BJD changed Odisha’s economy and financial fortunes during its 24 years in power through strong fiscal management, Patnaik said there was a revenue surplus of Rs 50,000 crore when he demitted office.

Patnaik said the new legislation would take away Odisha’s rights over its own mineral resources. “Why can’t we collect taxes on our own mineral resources? Our people will have to bear the dust and smoke while the Delhi Durbar will prosper from our resources. We will not allow this to happen,” he said.

The BJD is likely to launch an agitation programme across Odisha over the new law to build a narrative against the BJP.

Opposition beyond Odisha

The opposition to the legislation, however, is not confined to Odisha. Jharkhand and Kerala have also raised concerns, though their objections reflect different aspects of the Centre-state dispute.

Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren has opposed the amendment on the grounds that it could undermine the state’s fiscal and legislative autonomy over its mineral resources. In Kerala, Chief Minister V D Satheesan’s government has also opposed it, arguing that it encroaches on the states’ constitutional powers over land and mineral-bearing areas.

While in power in alliance with the BJP, the BJD government in 2004 had enacted the Orissa Rural Infrastructure and Socio-Economic Development (ORISED) Act to levy taxes on mines and mineral-bearing lands in the state. The rules to implement the legislation were framed a year later. However, the law was struck down by the Orissa High Court in December 2005. The matter is now pending before the Supreme Court.

At present, the states get royalty from lessees for extracting minerals. Odisha earns around Rs 50,000 crore annually from the mining sector.

Congress’s concerns

Patnaik’s concerns over the Bill were also echoed by suspended Congress MLA Sofia Firdous, who called the legislation a big blow to Odisha’s financial stability.

“What is there in the Bill is really harmful for the people of Odisha. How could the MPs who have been elected by the people to fight for their rights not speak against it and vote in favour? The Bill undermines the Supreme Court’s ruling protecting states’ rights over mineral resources,” she said.

The Congress also plans agitation programmes over the Bill to pressurise the Centre to withdraw it.

State Mines Minister Bibhuti Jena, however, claimed there would be no loss to Odisha due to the Bill. Jena also accused the Opposition of misleading people for political gain. He said the state’s earnings from the mining sector witnessed a sharp jump after the Narendra Modi government implemented the MMDR law in 2015.