BJD forms ‘shadow cabinet’ to keep tab on Odisha govt’s policies, programmes

Bhubaneswar: In what could be seen as the ‘Shadow Cabinet’ system prevalent in Britain, the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) today formed a setup to monitor the policies and programmes of the BJP government in Odisha.

The BJD has distributed specific assignments among its MLAs as part of a strategy to play the role of a strong and active Opposition in the Odisha Assembly.

Leader of Opposition and BJD president Naveen Patnaik has distributed the assignments among 50 MLAs of the regional party.

The MLAs, including many former ministers, have been assigned with the task of monitoring the functioning, programmes and policies of various government departments and raising issues concerning the people of Odisha in the Assembly.

Besides, the legislators have been told to participate in the debates and discussions in the Assembly actively.

“Opposition party plays a crucial role in safeguarding people’s interest in a democracy. The BJD president has distributed specific assignments among 50 MLAs of the party as part of a strategy to play the role of a strong and active Opposition in the Assembly. The legislators have been asked to raise various issues concerning the people in the House,” said the party in a statement today.

Notably, the BJD lost power in Odisha to BJP in the 2024 Assembly polls. The regional party managed to win 51 Assembly seats of the total 147 in the state while the BJP formed its maiden government by winning 78 seats.

Patnaik, a five-time Chief Minister, was earlier appointed as the Leader of Opposition in Odisha Assembly.

It is worth mentioning here that the first session of the 17^th Odisha Assembly is scheduled to commence on July 22.

The BJP government is scheduled to present the Budget for 2024-2025 financial year in the Assembly on July 25.

It is worth mentioning here that the shadow cabinet or shadow ministry is a feature of the Westminster system of government. It consists of a senior group of opposition spokespeople who, under the leadership of the Leader of the Opposition, form an alternative cabinet to that of the government, and whose members shadow or mirror the positions of each individual member of the Cabinet. Their areas of responsibility, in parallel with the ruling party's ministries, may be referred to as a shadow portfolio. Members of a shadow cabinet have no executive power. It is the shadow cabinet's responsibility to scrutinise the policies and actions of the government, as well as to offer alternative policies.

The tasks assigned to BJD MLAs: