Naveen drops hint that he had instructed party’s ‘split’ voting on Waqf law

By Sukant Mohanty

Bhubaneswar, April 9: Amid turmoil in Odisha’s Biju Janata Dal (BJD) over the voting on the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024 — which sparked internal conflict and speculations about a split — party chief and former Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik on Wednesday evening came out in support of V. Karthikeyan Pandian and vehemently denied his involvement in the party’s current affairs.

Naveen’s defence came in the wake of several BJD leaders blaming him for the split voting by the party’s seven Rajya Sabha members. While four members voted for the legislation, two opposed it, and one abstained.

Dr. Sasmit Patra, the BJD’s Rajya Sabha leader, stated that the party had not issued any whip on the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024, and had asked the members to vote according to their “conscience.” However, Muzibulla Khan (Muna Khan), another BJD Rajya Sabha member, rejected Patra’s statement, asserting that the party chief had clearly instructed them to oppose the Bill.

“I want to clearly state that V. Karthikeyan Pandian has done a lot of good work not only for the state but also for the party. He should not be criticised or blamed for anything. Also, he left the party 10 months ago and is not involved in any of the party’s work,” said Naveen Patnaik while addressing the media at his residence in Bhubaneswar.

Patnaik also slammed senior leader Prabhat Tripathy. “Prabhat Tripathy, a former MLA, was expelled from the BJD some years ago as he was indicted in a chit fund case and spent some years in jail. I want to clarify again that he no longer belongs to the party.”

The BJD president also criticised some senior leaders of the party for holding meetings in hotels to discuss the party’s split voting on the Waqf Bill. “I strongly disapprove of meetings being held in hotels by senior leaders. We have our party office — ‘Sankha Bhawan.’ They must hold their meetings here, in the party office,” Naveen said.