Bhubaneswar: Leader of opposition Naveen Patnaik on Wednesday urged CM Mohan Charan Majhi to convene a special session of the Odisha legislative assembly within 48 hours and pass a resolution opposing any reduction in the state’s political rights in the proposed delimitation exercise linked to women’s reservation and expansion of Lok Sabha seats to 850.In a three-page letter to the CM, Naveen said, “Odisha’s current strength of 21 MPs accounts for about 3.9% of the House, which would drop to around 3.4% if the tally rises to 29 seats as proposed after expansion.”
He pointed out that Odisha is among the states set to lose proportionate representation and urged the CM to take up the matter forcefully with the Centre. “Any reduction in political rights will undermine the aspirations of Odisha and its people,” Naveen wrote, warning that the state faces a potential 15% loss in political representation. “Our political voice and influence will be taken away to be redistributed to other states. Reports suggest Odisha will be the fourth biggest loser in this exercise,” he said, calling it a grave injustice to the state’s future generations.The appeal comes ahead of a special Parliament session beginning Thursday during which key legislations, including the delimitation proposal and the Women’s reservation bill, are expected to be discussed. Stating the urgency, Naveen asked for a special assembly session to pass a resolution asserting that “not even 0.001% of Odisha’s political rights be allowed to be taken away by other states”.While welcoming the Women’s reservation bill, Naveen said the BJD would support the delimitation bill only if Odisha’s political rights remain intact. He added that the issue goes beyond numbers and strikes at the spirit of cooperative federalism enshrined in the Constitution. “Future generations will not forgive us if we remain silent while Odisha is reduced to a politically insignificant state,” Naveen wrote.Countering Naveen’s concerns, BJP MLA Ashok Mohanty said raising objections even before a concrete proposal is placed was unwarranted. “There is no reason for apprehension. Odisha’s interests will remain fully protected. This is a historic exercise and no state stands to lose,” he said.
