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Calling for a united fight against the Act, which “would cost a loss worth thousands of crores to the state every year”, Patnaik said, “MMDR is not an ordinary Bill, it is associated with the rights of the state. Sadly, such an important Bill was passed in Parliament without any discussion. In whose interest did the 20 BJP Lok Sabha MPs (from Odisha) remain silent? The state government remained silent. Whom do they fear?” Patnaik, 79, said.

Biju Janata Dal (BJD) president Naveen Patnaik

During the rally on Mahatma Gandhi road, for which workers and leaders from across Odisha were mobilised, Patnaik said people of the state were the rightful owners of its mines and its land.

In his sharpest offensive yet against the BJP regime in Odisha, Patnaik said the government, which is always in denial, does little beyond making speeches. He said despite him writing two letters to Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi, seeking a special session of the state Assembly and another to pass a resolution against the new mining law, there was no response.

“Why does the (state) government remain silent when it comes to Odisha’s interests? No party can ever be greater than the motherland. The chair of power you hold today may not be there tomorrow. But if you betray this land, you will face condemnation forever. Gen Z will never forgive you,” said Patnaik.

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Biju Janata Dal (BJD) president Naveen Patnaik’s rally on Monday

Reviving his familiar regional pitch against the party in power at the Centre, Patnaik vowed to fight for Odisha “till his last breath”.

Even as the Odisha government said that it is yet to assess the impact of the new mining law on the state, various political parties said it would suffer a loss of Rs 1 lakh crore as arrears and additional annual revenue of Rs 12,000 crore from the mining sector.

What triggered protest against the new law is a new clause — prohibiting the mineral-bearing states from levying any taxes on the mining lease holders, even though the Supreme Court, in July 2024, empowered them to levy taxes and to collect arrears from April 2005.

BJD sources said the regional party will make it an issue of “Centre vs regional interest” to target the BJP, which is in power in the state and at the Centre. The party, through the demonstration, decided to carry forward the protests to streets across the state.

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Biju Janata Dal (BJD) president Naveen Patnaik’s rally on Monday

Sujata’s rally debut

Besides Patnaik, another leader who drew attention at the protest was Sujata Rout Karthikeyan – wife of former bureaucrat and the ex-CM’s close aide, VK Pandian.

Sujata, who joined BJD in June, said that by supporting the law, the BJP MPs and Odisha government had returned a huge amount of funds that came knocking at the state’s door.

She said the MMDR Act has proved that the remote control of the BJP government in Odisha lies with its central leadership.

Biju Janata Dal (BJD) president Naveen Patnaik’s rally on Monday

Besides Sujata, several other BJD leaders, MLAs and former legislators spoke at the event.

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“Odisha should have rights on its land and minerals,” said Bijay Nayak, a BJD leader from Jajpur.

INDIA bloc parties have also called for a massive demonstration against the new law on Tuesday.