Bhubaneswar: BIju Janata Dal (BJD) president Naveen Patnaik on Monday said that he would look into the controversy, which has erupted on the party’s last-minute change in stance on Waqf Amendment Bill.
After a meeting with Rajya Sabha member Munna Khan-led delegation, Naveen said that necessary steps will be taken to resolve the issue, “Whatever needs to be done will be done”, he said.
He asserted that BJD is a secular party. “We had even broken our alliance with the BJP after the Kandhamal riots. The BJD has always stood with the minority community,” he added.
Khan along with several Muslim representatives met the BJD president to discuss the Rajya Sabha voting by the party on Wakf Amendment Bill .They demanded action and sought justice on the support vote by one or two MPs “You are not just a political leader. You are family for us. You are a father figure. What will we do if you will not ensure Justice…”, said one of the representatives.
The Muslim members also raised ‘Pandian Go Back’ & ‘Pandian Hatao, BJD Bachao’ slogans during the meeting amid discussions within the party on whether an “external force” was influencing its decision.
BJD MP Debashish Samantaray, who abstained from voting in the Upper House, had blamed Naveen’s ‘only advisor’ for the mistake, while supporting the possible ‘secret deal with BJP’ theory doing the rounds. Senior party leaders Pratap Jena and Prafulla Samal have also written to Naveen alleging a “conspiracy” and calling for a detailed probe.
After arriving in Bhubaneswar, Khan had criticised fellow MP Sasmit Patra for publicly supporting the Bill and questioned his allegiance to the regional party.
The BJD, which initially decided to oppose the Bill arguing that the Muslim community, the primary stakeholder, was not consulted prior to the introduction of the (Waqf) legislation, had allowed its members to vote on their conscience, triggering resentment within the party with some raising questions over its secular credentials.
Muslims make up about 2.17% of the state’s 4.5 crore population.
Khan had represented the party during the debate and vocally opposed the Bill, raising concerns from the Muslim community over the inclusion of non-Muslims in Waqf Boards. However, the absence of a party whip suggested that other lawmakers diverged from this position. The decision was conveyed to its 7 MPs on April 3 evening. While he voted against the Bill, Sasmit supported the legislation. BJD MP Debashish Samantaray abstained from voting in the Upper House, which cleared the Bill with 128 members voting in favour and 95 opposing it.
The positions of Manas Mangaraj, Sulata Deo, Niranjan Bisi and Subhasish Khuntia remain undisclosed
