<p>In what could be seen as a lesson in politics for the rival INDIA opposition bloc in Lok Sabha, the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) party in the eastern state of Odisha formed a shadow cabinet to scrutinise work done by the inaugural Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government. The opposition BJD assigned 50 of its 51 Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs) to various departments of the government to form a shadow government, a move akin to Britain’s Westminster system.</p>

<p>The move by BJD president and former Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik came ahead of the budget session of the state assembly, slated to begin on July 22. The BJD chief aims to kill two birds with a single stone here: Keeping the party united after being booted out of power for the first time in&nbsp;24 years and keeping a check on the BJP government of Mohan Majhi.</p>

<p>“The Opposition works as a watchdog of public interests in a democracy. By keeping a close watch on the performance of various departments of the state government and actively participating in the discussions related to them in the Assembly, it can help protect the rights of the people of the state as well as voice their concerns. Accordingly, Leader of Opposition (LoP) Naveen Patnaik has given responsibility to 50 elected members of the BJD to monitor various programmes of the departments,” BJD said in a statement.</p>

<p>The shadow cabinet ministers are expected to carefully monitor the work done by comparatively inexperienced new BJP ministers in the state.&nbsp;</p>

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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">Former Odisha CM and LoP Naveen Patnaik assigns various departments to his 50 MLAs, who would closely watch their activities &amp; raise issues pertaining to the departments in the state assembly, aiming for a strong counter to the BJP govt in the assembly: BJD<br />
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<p>For instance, former Finance Minister Prasanna Acharya has been asked to look after the finance department whereas former Energy Minister Pratap Deb will deal with General Administration &amp; Public Grievance. Both of these departments are currently held by the CM himself.</p>

<p><strong>Also read:&nbsp;<a data-ved="2ahUKEwit7NSQ166HAxUqhq8BHaTnEoMQxfQBKAB6BAgHEAE" href="https://www.wionews.com/india-news/exclusive-indian-warship-rescues-eight-citizens-one-sri-lankan-after-prestige-falcon-capsizing-tragedy-741798" jsname="YKoRaf" ping="/url?sa=t&amp;source=web&amp;rct=j&amp;opi=89978449&amp;url=https://www.wionews.com/india-news/exclusive-indian-warship-rescues-eight-citizens-one-sri-lankan-after-prestige-falcon-capsizing-tragedy-741798&amp;ved=2ahUKEwit7NSQ166HAxUqhq8BHaTnEoMQxfQBKAB6BAgHEAE">Exclusive: INS Teg rescues eight Indian sailors, one Sri Lankan of capsized Prestige Falcon crew</a></strong></p>

<p>Former minister Niranjan Pujari will monitor home, food, civil&nbsp;supplies and&nbsp;consumer welfare departments while senior BJD MLA and former Agriculture Minister Ranendra Pratap Swain will keep an eye on&nbsp;revenue and&nbsp;disaster management departments.</p>

<h2><strong>What is a shadow cabinet?</strong></h2>

<p>When opposition lawmakers come together to individually assign themselves government departments to monitor developments and highlight issues of importance, it's called a shadow cabinet.</p>

<p>It is a relatively&nbsp;new concept in India. BJP has tried forming shadow cabinets in states like Maharashtra, Goa, Punjab and Delhi in the past. Congress also formed a shadow cabinet in Madhya Pradesh in 2014.</p>

<p><em>(With inputs from agencies)</em></p>


In what could be seen as a lesson in politics for the rival INDIA opposition bloc in Lok Sabha, the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) party in the eastern state of Odisha formed a shadow cabinet to scrutinise work done by the inaugural Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government.

In what could be seen as a lesson in politics for the rival INDIA opposition bloc in Lok Sabha, the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) party in the eastern state of Odisha formed a shadow cabinet to scrutinise work done by the inaugural Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government. The opposition BJD assigned 50 of its 51 Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs) to various departments of the government to form a shadow government, a move akin to Britain’s Westminster system. The move by BJD president and former Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik came ahead of the budget session of the state assembly, slated to begin on July 22. The BJD chief aims to kill two birds with a single stone here: Keeping the party united after being booted out of power for the first time in 24 years and keeping a check on the BJP government of Mohan Majhi. “The Opposition works as a watchdog of public interests in a democracy. By keeping a close watch on the performance of various departments of the state government and actively participating in the discussions related to them in the Assembly, it can help protect the rights of the people of the state as well as voice their concerns. Accordingly, Leader of Opposition (LoP) Naveen Patnaik has given responsibility to 50 elected members of the BJD to monitor various programmes of the departments,” BJD said in a statement. The shadow cabinet ministers are expected to carefully monitor the work done by comparatively inexperienced new BJP ministers in the state. Former Odisha CM and LoP Naveen Patnaik assigns various departments to his 50 MLAs, who would closely watch their activities & raise issues pertaining to the departments in the state assembly, aiming for a strong counter to the BJP govt in the assembly: BJD Odisha Assembly will… pic.twitter.com/a8dcskXBhL — ANI (@ANI) July 17, 2024 × For instance, former Finance Minister Prasanna Acharya has been asked to look after the finance department whereas former Energy Minister Pratap Deb will deal with General Administration & Public Grievance. Both of these departments are currently held by the CM himself. Also read: Exclusive: INS Teg rescues eight Indian sailors, one Sri Lankan of capsized Prestige Falcon crew Former minister Niranjan Pujari will monitor home, food, civil supplies and consumer welfare departments while senior BJD MLA and former Agriculture Minister Ranendra Pratap Swain will keep an eye on revenue and disaster management departments. What is a shadow cabinet? When opposition lawmakers come together to individually assign themselves government departments to monitor developments and highlight issues of importance, it's called a shadow cabinet. It is a relatively new concept in India. BJP has tried forming shadow cabinets in states like Maharashtra, Goa, Punjab and Delhi in the past. Congress also formed a shadow cabinet in Madhya Pradesh in 2014. (With inputs from agencies)

Odisha's opposition BJD forms shadow cabinet to counter BJP. Here's what it means

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