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Journalism of Courage
The change in the Biju Janata Dal’s (BJD’s) stance over the Waqf (Amendment) Bill hours to go before voting in the Rajya Sabha has triggered turmoil within the party, with several senior leaders meeting BJD chief Naveen Patnaik Friday.
The party that had declared its opposition to the Bill conveyed to its 7 MPs Thursday evening that it wouldn’t issue a whip, telling them to vote “as per their conscience”. In the end, three BJD MPs are said to have voted in favour of the Bill, while another, Debashish Samantaray, abstained “expressing displeasure over the party’s change in stance at the last moment”.
The Rajya Sabha passed the legislation finally by 128-95 votes. The BJD does not have any MPs in the Lok Sabha, where the voting on the Bill happened a day earlier, on Thursday early morning.
BJD vice-president Prasanna Acharya said Friday that he was “not aware of the circumstances under which the decision (to unequivocally oppose the Waqf Bill) was changed at the last moment”.
Senior leader Badri Narayan Patra echoed Acharya and added there was a “khela” (game) at play “by someone” to make the party “face an awkward situation”. “There was clear instruction by our party president (Patnaik) to the MPs to oppose the Bill. Accordingly, our member Muzibulla Khan spoke against the Bill in his speech… But we cannot understand why the decision was changed at the last moment. It is a matter of concern,” said Patra.
A BJD MP said any decision should have been taken “after consulting all the members of the party”, adding that they became aware of the change of stance “around 6 pm” Thursday.
Other senior leaders expressed concern that the message that had gone out was that “the leadership has no hold over its MPs”. The development also strengthens the apprehensions of a section that since the party lost power in June last year, Patnaik was being “misled by an influential group for their own benefits”.
“Despite our strong organisation and the popularity of the leader (Patnaik), the BJD suffered a setback (in 2024’s Assembly and Lok Sabha elections) because of our continuous support to the Narendra Modi-led government over several issues… This created a wrong perception. After losing elections, it was decided that the BJD would be a strong opposition to the BJP and that we would stop giving issue-based support to the BJP-led NDA government…” a leader pointed out, requesting anonymity.
Before it lost power in Odisha to the BJP, the BJD had extended support to the Narendra Modi-led Central government on several issues such as the Citizenship (Amendment) Act and demonetisation among others.
As the Waqf Bill debate was being held in the Rajya Sabha Thursday, the BJD appeared to be firmly against the Bill with its MP Muzibulla Khan questioning in particular the provision that a person needed to show he or she had been practising Islam for five years to declare and dedicate Waqf property.
It was in the evening that BJD Rajya Sabha floor leader Sasmit Patra informed party colleagues that they were to “exercise their conscience” during voting.
Naveen Patnaik had declared the BJD stance on the Waqf Bill as early as September last year, saying there was “a sense of insecurity” among the minorities. The party had also staged demonstrations against the amendments of the Bill.
Many of the leaders worried that the change of stance would demoralise workers and leaders who have been taking on the BJP on the ground in Odisha. It would also give a fresh burst of energy to the Congress, which has lately taken the lead in attacking the BJP government in the state.
Reacting to the BJD change of stance on the Waqf Bill, senior Congress leader Prasad Harichandan claimed it was driven by “fear”. “The regional party’s decision has created a perception that the BJD and BJP are one,” said Harichandan.
