Will oppose land bill in parliament, raise Posco issue: BJD

The ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD) in Odisha on Sunday said it would oppose the land acquisition bill proposed by the Centre during the monsoon session of parliament beginning from Tuesday.

The party said it would also raise the issue of South Korean steel major Posco, which has been asked to compete in the mine licence auction to get an iron ore mine to feed its proposed $12 billion steel project in Jagatsinghpur district.

The BJD decision came after a parliamentary board meeting held at the residence of party chief Naveen Patnaik here on Sunday to discuss the strategies on several issues during the coming monsoon session of parliament.

"We will reiterate our demand for inclusion of land-owners as stakeholders in the proposed project that would come up on their land. We will also seek an amendment to the land acquisition bill for inclusion of this demand," said BJD parliamentarian Bhartruhari Mahtab.

On the Posco project, Mahtab said it would be raised before the Centre for a favourable nod as Odisha was open to more investment and industrialisation. "The Centre has not extended its expected support on the Posco issue," Mahtab said.

Kendrapada parliamentarian Baijayant Panda said the party would raise in parliament the issues affecting the state. He said the central government's decision to slash funds on some schemes and abolish some others would be raised in the coming session of parliament.

The BJD has 27 parliamentarians, including 20 in the Lok Sabha.