Bhubaneswar: Biju Janata Dal (BJD) MP Debashish Samantaray on Wednesday launched a veiled attack on former bureaucrat V K Pandian and his party colleagues, supporting him, amid the simmering discontent over split voting on Waqf Amendment Bill in the Rajya Sabha.
Taking to his Facebook account, Samantaray said that those who joined the BJD in the recent past for plump posts are unaware of the history of the party, which was formed to uphold the legacy of Biju Patnaik. “Since the inception of BJD, lakhs of workers and senior leaders have struggled and fought to elevate this regional party to the national level. However, some leaders are unfamiliar with Naveen Babu’s principles, his commitment to secularism, and his dedication to Odisha. They seem to be acting at someone’s behest. They neither belong to the party, nor to Odisha, nor to Naveen Patnaik,” he wrote in the post.
The BJD MP attributed the party’s debacle in 2024 twin polls to BJP’s main poll plank of Odia Asmita (pride), targeting the rise of Pandian, the Tamil Nadu-born former IAS officer, in the regional party. “We belong to the land of Lord Jagannath. Protecting our identity should be our foremost goal,” he concluded.
#ମୋନେତା_ନବୀନବାବୁ #NaveenPatnaik #BijuJantaDal #Odisha pic.twitter.com/VY79UTCTuf
— Debashish Samantaray (@debashish_mla) April 9, 2025
This came a couple of days after four of his Rajya Sabha colleagues – Sulata Deo, Subhasis Khuntia, Niranjan Bisi and Manas Mangaraj – slammed him for dragging Pandian’s name into the row over Waqf Bill voting.
Also Read: ‘Why Blame V K Pandian’? BJD MP Calls Out Party Colleague Amid Row Over Waqf U-Turn
Samantaray had abstained from voting expressing displeasure over the party’s decision to not issue a whip and allow MPs to vote “as per their conscience” after Parliamentary Party meeting resolved to oppose the Bill, arguing that the Muslim community, the primary stakeholder, was not consulted prior to the introduction of the (Waqf) legislation.
While defending BJD’s Rajya Sabha floor leader Sasmit Parta, who was accused of creating confusion with his post on ‘conscience voting’, Samantaray attributed the sudden change in party’s position to the former bureaucrat-turned-politician. “Pandian conspired in the entire Waqf episode,” he told reporters.
On Tuesday, Naveen met some senior leaders amid the growing rift in the party and advised them against making any statement to the media. Seven young leaders of the party also wrote to the party chief, stating that the Wakf Bill vote In Rajya Sabha has hurt “Biju Premis”. “Your firm faith in secular principles has drawn immense praise in the entire country & State. We are surprised by the Rajya Sabha vote on Wakf Amendment Bill. It has hurt the sentiments of Biju Premis…It needs to be reviewed why certain persons deviated from party’s principles & ideology & in this regard, disciplinary action is required….,” the letter submitted to senior BJD leader Debi Mishra said.
Also Read: Rift Growing In BJD Amid ‘Blame Game’ Over Waqf Bill Vote, Naveen Patnaik Issues Gag Order
This has led to speculation that Naveen might contemplate some action against Sasmit, who had been away attending an important conference at Tashkent as part of India’s Parliamentary delegation, to douse the Waqf Bill fire raging within the party.
