New Delhi, Feb. 10 -- BJD MP Sasmit Patra on Monday termed the Union Budget 2026 disappointing for Odisha, saying the state's key demands were ignored.

Speaking to ANI, he said that despite Odisha facing frequent natural disasters, there was no mention of granting special category status, a demand that has been raised for nearly two decades by BJD and its leader, Naveen Patnaik.

"The budget, especially for my state of Odisha, has been rather disappointing. As you know, Odisha faces a number of natural disasters, so we have been demanding a special category state status for almost two decades. And our leader, Shri Naveen Patnaik ji, when he was also Chief Minister at that time as well as now, has been repeatedly demanding special categor...