BHUBANESWAR: In a scathing attack on the Odisha government’s latest budget, opposition leader and BJD chief Naveen Patnaik likened it to a ‘full menu in an empty kitchen.’ The critique came hours after Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi presented the 2026-27 state budget in the assembly on Friday.
Speaking to reporters outside his residence, the former chief minister didn’t mince words. ‘What can I say about this budget? It feels like a full menu served in an empty kitchen,’ Patnaik remarked, highlighting the disconnect between grand announcements and actual financial backing.
Echoing this sentiment, BJD senior leader Divya Shankar Mishra tore into the budget for lacking new policy directions, financial clarity, and concrete job creation measures. ‘The two-hour-long budget speech failed to launch any significant new initiatives for the people of Odisha,’ Mishra stated.
He pointed out glaring gaps in several announced schemes, including missing financial allocations and execution roadmaps. Mishra also criticized the absence of targeted measures for women, social development, and vulnerable sections. ‘Most plans and programs in the budget have no financial provisions – that’s the worst part. No special benefit schemes for SCs and STs, nothing beyond direct benefit transfers for women’s empowerment, and zero new ideas for job generation,’ he alleged.
The opposition Congress piled on, expressing alarm over mounting loan burdens and unspent funds from previous budgets. OPCC President Bhakta Charan Das quipped, ‘You can’t just inflate the budget size. A government that spent only 57% of its allocation in the first 10 months of the current year can’t boast about promising over ₹20,000 crore next year. It’s an elephant of a budget with mosquito-level spending.’
As political tempers flare, the budget’s promises face intense scrutiny. Will the government deliver on its vision, or will it remain a menu without ingredients? Odisha’s development trajectory hangs in the balance.