The Opposition BJD has opposed an alleged move to establish a nuclear power plant in Odisha and accused the State’s BJP government of compromising with public safety for the sake of corporate interests.
The BJD’s Opposition came days after a representative of a private company met Odisha’s Deputy Chief Minister K.V. Singh Deo, who is also in charge of the energy department.
Addressing a press conference on Wednesday (August 5, 2026), BJD senior general secretary Lekhashree Samantsinghar claimed that the establishment of a nuclear power plant in Odisha would pose a serious threat to the health and safety of the people.
She alleged that the ‘double-engine government’, driven by its inclination towards private companies, has completely ignored the safety and security of the people of Odisha.
According to the BJD leader, a private company has proposed to establish a 3,000 MW nuclear power plant in Odisha.
“Whenever the subject of nuclear or atomic energy arises, it naturally creates fear in people’s minds. In 1945, the nuclear bombings reduced the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki to ruins. In 1986, the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant (in Ukraine) suffered a catastrophic explosion, and in 2011, a similar disaster occurred at the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant (in Japan),” she said.
The Opposition leader said that the losses and damage caused by these nuclear disasters have still not been fully compensated by the respective governments.
Ms. Samantsinghar added that nuclear energy is inherently hazardous and carries a significant risk to human life, and claimed that in most countries, nuclear energy remains under government ownership and control, and no private entity is entrusted with its ownership.
“However, under the BJP government, this long-standing principle is being altered by transferring nuclear energy into the hands of private companies. For its own interests, the BJP government is showing complete disregard for the lives and safety of the people of Odisha,” she alleged.
Raising questions on the intention of the administration, she said that the BJP government has amended the existing regulations governing nuclear power plants in order to facilitate private participation.
In December 2025, the Central Government passed a law in Parliament paving the way for handing over the nuclear energy sector to private companies, following which private companies have now turned their attention towards Odisha, she said.
Noting that India currently has 8.8 GW of nuclear power capacity under government ownership and that increasing it to 100 GW by transferring ownership to private entities would be extremely dangerous, Ms. Samantsinghar said that matters concerning national security are never entrusted to private organisations.
She alleged that the BJP government is conspiring to privatise a strategically important sector such as nuclear energy.
Despite strong Opposition in Parliament, the government allegedly hurriedly introduced the Nuclear Energy Bill with the intention of handing over ownership to private entities, the BJD leader added.
“Since the formation of the BJP government in Odisha, the state government has been functioning under the directions of the Centre and is unable to take any independent decisions without instructions from Delhi. Acting on the directions of the central government, the state is determined to establish a nuclear power plant in Odisha by compromising the interests of the people,” she alleged.
The BJD urged the BJP government to refrain from establishing a nuclear power plant that would put the lives of the people of Odisha at risk.
“Otherwise, the Biju Janata Dal would launch a mass agitation to safeguard the interests of the people of the State,” she told reporters.
The government did not respond to the BJD’s allegation till the filing of the report.
Published – August 06, 2026 10:06 am IST
