Bhubaneswar: A group of senior Biju Janata Dal (BJD) leaders on Friday expressed concern over the party’s abrupt change of stand on the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2025, and plans to take up the issue with party president and former chief minister Naveen Patnaik.
Hours after the Rajya Sabha gave its nod to the contentious legislation following an over 13-hour debate, BJD leaders including party’s deputy leader in Odisha Assembly Prasanna Acharya, former ministers Bhupinder Sigh and Ashok Panda, former MP Chandrasekar Sahoo and others held a meeting at Sankha Bhawan, the state party headquarters, and discussed the issue of the party changing its stand over the Waqf Bill.
Interestingly, a day before the Waqf Bill voting was taken up in the Rajya Sabha, the party had stated that it would vote against it.
BJD’s Rajya Sabha MP and national spokesperson Sasmit Patra said he voted for the Waqf Bill as the party did not issue any whip on the issue.
Patra, however, claimed he was not aware whether six other MPs of the party also voted in support of the Bill. The party has seven MPs in the Rajya Sabha and none in the Lok Sabha.
“I cannot say about others. I voted in support of the Bill,” Patra told PTI.
After the meeting, Acharya said, “Among other issues, we also discussed it (the BJD’s change of stand). We do not know under what circumstances the party changed its stand. As we know, the BJD Parliamentary Party meeting, held under the chairmanship of Patnaik, had earlier decided to oppose the Waqf Bill. We will discuss the issue with the BJD chief.”
The Opposition Congress strongly criticised the BJD and accused it of going against its promise to the Muslim community in the state by voting in favour of the Bill.
“The BJD Parliamentary Party had earlier decided to oppose the Bill. We had also heard that the party would boycott the RS during voting on the issue. Suddenly, the BJD changed its stand and voted in support of the Bill. BJD’s decision has tarnished the image of Naveen Patnaik and the party,” OPCC president Bhakta Charan Das said.
“The BJD was functioning on the ideology of late Biju Patnaik and Naveen Babu also claimed to be secular. Now, they have completely surrendered before the BJP. In the process, they (BJD) have saffronised themselves. I will not be surprised if the BJD merges with the BJP following the regional party’s change of ideology,” the state Congress chief told reporters here.
On Thursday afternoon, Patra in a post on X had said, “The Biju Janata Dal has always upheld the principles of secularism and inclusivity, ensuring the rights of all communities. We deeply respect the diverse sentiments expressed by different sections of the Minority communities regarding the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024.”
“Our Party, having taken these views into careful consideration, has entrusted our Hon’ble Members in the Rajya Sabha with the responsibility of exercising their conscience in the best interest of justice, harmony and the rights of all communities, should the Bill come up for voting. There is no Party Whip,” the post read.
PTI
