Bhubaneswar: The Biju Janata Dal’s (BJD) ambiguous position on the Waqf (Amendment) Bill on Friday sparked off a debate within the regional party.
A day after announcing that it would oppose the bill, the Naveen Patnaik-led party on Thursday chose not to issue a whip and allowed its members to “exercise their conscience” during voting in Rajya Sabha. The Bill was passed in the Upper House early on Friday by 128-95 votes after a fierce debate between NDA and INDIA bloc leaders.
The ruling NDA required 119 votes and its total support reached 125 with the backing of independent and nominated members, as against the Opposition’s 95 votes. There was uncertainty which way the remaining 16 members would swing.
HOW BJD MPs VOTES IN RAJYA SABHA
The BJD has seven MPs in Rajya Sabha.
Speaking to the media, BJD Sasmitra said that he voted in favour of the Bill. “The party had decided that the MPs were to vote as per their conscience and left it to them to decide. I have not discussed this with the MPs so far. I have supported the bill,” he told news agency ANI.
Another BJD MP Sulata Deo claimed that the party members decided to vote for and against the Bill on a 50:50 basis. However, other MPs denied it. Muzibulla Khan, who represented the Muslim community and presented the party’s concerns over the inclusion of non-Muslims in Waqf Boards in Rajya Sabha, voted against it, while BJD MP Debashish Samantaray confirmed that he abstained from voting in protest against the party’s change in stand.
“We had earlier decided to oppose the Bill and Naveen Patnaik during the Iftar party on Saturday had said so. On Thursday afternoon suddenly we were told to vote as per our conscience. I chose to skip voting as I did not like it,” he said.
Sources said that senior party leaders also raised concerns over the lack of clarity on the Bill during an advisory committee meeting chaired by Prasanna Acharya. “We will discuss with the party president about the Rajya Sabha voting apart from other Organisational matters,” Acharya told the media when asked about the “conscience vote” in Rajya Sabha on Wakf Bill.
Senior MLA Badri Patra admitted that the “vote as per conscience” diktat had created an awkward situation for the party. “Naveen Patnaik personally instructed Muzibulla Khan twice – once during a recent Iftar party and again via phone – to vote against the Bill. The confusing situation is concerning. There could be some pressure.,” the senior MLA and former minister told the media.
Senior BJD leader Shashi Bhusan Behera also expressed dismay over the lack of clarity in the party’s stance. “We are also confused and hearing a lot of things. We will seek a meeting and clarification from the party chief. The party is strong and the president is capable of clearing all confusion and dealing with the situation,” he added.
But what prompted this change in stand? Here are some plausible reasons.
1. The arrest of BJD leader Raja Chakra, who has been accused of a mega transport scam in Odisha, could have forced the party to dilute its position on the Bill. There is speculation about involvement of district administration officials and several heavyweights of the party in the scam. This decision is being seen in the political circles as a step to protect them. This apart, Naveen’s recent visit to Delhi, excusing himself from attending the joint action committee meeting in Chennai on delimitation convened by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin by sending two BJD leaders and the Centre’s nod to IAS officer Sujata Karthikeyan’s request for voluntary retirement from service with relaxation of the notice period also hint at a tacit understanding between the two parties.
2. In September 2024, Naveen had expressed concern about a “sense of insecurity” among minorities pertaining to the Bill while addressing the BJD’s minority cell. The party reiterated this position in November 2024 while protesting against the Bill’s introduction, arguing that the Muslim community had not been adequately consulted. While this aligned with BJD’s historical secular image, the party perhaps took the “vote as per conscience” decision, keeping the Hindu voters in mind. According to the 2011 Census, Odisha has a small Muslim population (2.17%). The stand is being seen as an attempt to steer clear of any possible controversy.
3. The BJD with a diminished strength in Rajya Sabha with two MPs jumping ship and being re-elected as BJP members in the Upper House, after drawing a naught in the last Lok Sabha polls, might have forced the regional party to rethink its decision to play the role of a strong and constructive Opposition. The BJD-BJP bonhomie was in full display during Modi 2.0 when the regional party was in power in the state. Despite its claims of maintaining “equidistance” from the BJP as well as Congress, the BJD almost always supported the NDA government in Parliament over crucial issues, including scrapping of Article 370, Triple Talaq and the passage of Citizenship Amendment Bill. It also backed the contentious Delhi Services Bill in Parliament even as several Opposition leaders termed it unconstitutional.
