BJD leader questions the amendment’s impact on Odisha’s revenue powers as BJP MP Aparajita Sarangi challenges the Opposition’s interpretation of the law
GTNS | BHUBANESWAR | SEPTEMBER 28, 2026, The political contest over the MMDR Amendment Act, 2026 has taken a sharper turn in Odisha, with BJD leader Sujata Rout Karthikeyan and BJP MP Aparajita Sarangi putting forward contrasting positions while addressing the media.Sujata has made Odisha’s mineral revenue and the State’s taxation powers the central point of her criticism. She has argued that the amended framework could affect rights that Odisha had sought to establish through earlier legislation and the Supreme Court’s 2024 judgment on taxation of mineral rights and mineral-bearing lands.Her intervention has added a new political voice to the BJD’s campaign against the amendment. The party has maintained that the legislation could have significant financial implications for Odisha and has demanded its withdrawal. The issue has also repeatedly disrupted proceedings in the Odisha Assembly.Aparajita Sarangi has taken a different line in her media response. The Bhubaneswar MP has said that Opposition leaders should examine the actual provisions of the amended law and suggested that some of the criticism reflects an incomplete understanding of the legislation.The contrasting media interventions have turned the MMDR debate into a direct political exchange between two prominent women leaders from opposing parties.At the heart of the dispute is a larger question: what financial and constitutional space will remain with mineral-producing States under the amended MMDR framework?The BJD has focused its campaign on State rights and potential revenue implications, while BJP leaders have defended the amendment and challenged the Opposition’s interpretation of its consequences. Earlier BJP statements have also argued that the legislation creates a more uniform regulatory framework for mining.The controversy gained further momentum on September 28 when BJD president Naveen Patnaik joined the party’s public demonstration in Bhubaneswar and reiterated his opposition to the amended legislation.With both sides increasingly taking their arguments directly to the media and the public, the MMDR issue has moved beyond a technical mining-law debate. It has now become a major political argument over Odisha’s mineral wealth, State finances, federal powers and the interpretation of Parliament’s amended mining framework