Bhubaneswar: BJD President and Leader of Opposition Naveen Patnaik has sharply criticised the BJP government’s supplementary budget, accusing it of lacking direction, ignoring key development needs, and steering Odisha towards fiscal tightening.
The supplementary budget of ₹17,440 crore for the financial year 2025–26 was presented in the Assembly on Friday by Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi. The government projected farmers’ welfare, women and child development, healthcare, and infrastructure as its priority sectors.
Naveen, however, dismissed the budget as inadequate and superficial.
In a post on X, he said the government failed to announce any major infrastructure projects or introduce a forward-looking roadmap in its first full-year budget.
He alleged that the budget attempts to mask declining central grants and revenue shortfalls rather than address the state’s pressing needs. Patnaik also criticised the ₹900-crore allocation for the Public Works Department, calling it insufficient and skewed towards urban pockets.
“The BJP government’s supplementary budget is dashing the hopes of countless Odias,” he wrote.
“There is no sign of any major infrastructure initiative or new vision. Instead, administrative expenses are being curtailed and Odisha’s debt burden is rising.”
He said that beyond a few urban projects, the budget offers little for the common people.
“This supplementary budget appears to be a ploy to conceal shrinking central grants and revenue gaps. Rather than working for the welfare of Odisha’s residents, it seems aimed at misleading them,” he added.