The Biju Janata Dal (BJD) on Friday urged the Centre to intervene and accelerate rice lifting from Odisha, alleging that the Food Corporation of India (FCI) is not lifting rice at the required pace. Former ministers Atanu Sabyasachi Nayak and Sanjay Dasburma said mounting stocks in storage could create difficulties for the state’s upcoming paddy procurement season.

Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee president Bhakta Charan Das on Friday expressed concern over the state government’s alleged failure to address the demands of protesting teachers and employees. He warned that the Congress would launch a statewide agitation if the issues were not resolved at the earliest. Das said thousands of teachers and employees from government and private schools and colleges across Odisha have been participating in a non-cooperation agitation for more than 20 days.

Sambalpur MP and former Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan has criticised BJD president Naveen Patnaik over his concerns regarding the MMDR Amendment Act, 2026. Pradhan termed the apprehensions over Odisha’s revenue loss unfounded and argued that the amended law would promote transparency, industrial growth, infrastructure development and employment while safeguarding the State’s economic interests.

Odisha BJP will launch a month-long public outreach programme, ‘Seva Sankalp Abhiyan’, on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s birthday on September 17. The campaign will include diya lighting, local storytelling sessions, interactive awareness programmes at Anganwadi centres and a ‘Seva Jyoti Yatra’ across districts.

INDIA Bloc staged a major protest in Bhubaneswar demanding repeal of the MMDR Amendment Act, 2026, alleging that it threatens Odisha’s mineral resources, revenue interests and federal rights. The Bloc announced a state convention on September 9, followed by an economic blockade and Odisha Bandh.

Congress president and Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge on Saturday criticised the Narendra Modi government over declining sugar stocks and rising prices ahead of the festive season. He questioned the Centre's sugar management and ethanol-blending policy, asking why sugar was being imported while sugarcane and grains were being diverted for ethanol production.