NEW DELHI: The Biju Janata Dal (BJD) is grappling with internal unrest following Rajya Sabha MP Sasmit Patra’s support for the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2025. Senior party leaders, including former minister Pratap Jena, have urged party president Naveen Patnaik to take disciplinary action, marking the first major intra-party challenge since the BJD’s defeat in the 2024 state elections.
Jena wrote to Patnaik, demanding accountability for Patra’s stance. The issue intensified after BJD Vice-President Debi Prasad Mishra described the bill as a “debatable issue” and said, “It is up to BJD MPs whether they want to support it or not.”
The bill, passed narrowly in both Houses of Parliament, seeks to amend the 1995 Waqf Act to improve property management and digital record-keeping.
Congress MP Jairam Ramesh accused the BJD of “capitulating to BJP pressures at the last minute,” weakening opposition strength in the Rajya Sabha. “The 95 number would have been more had not the BJD capitulated,” Ramesh posted on X.
Sasmit Patra confirmed his support for the bill, saying, “The party has decided that the MPs were to vote as per their conscience… I have supported the bill.” BJD sources revealed that four MPs opposed the bill, two supported it, and one abstained.
Senior BJD leader and six-time MLA Badri Narayan Patra raised serious concerns, “The party president had explicitly directed members to oppose the Bill… Naveen babu had personally instructed Muzibulla Khan twice — once during a recent Iftar party and again over phone — to vote against the Bill. There is something amiss.”
His remarks were echoed by party leaders Shashi Bhusan Behera and Bhupinder Singh, who flagged confusion over BJD’s stance. “All the senior leaders are concerned,” Singh said.
A delegation of party leaders, led by deputy leader of opposition Prasanna Acharya, met Naveen Patnaik to express dissatisfaction over the lack of a party whip and the perceived indiscipline. Acharya, while confirming the meeting, said the BJD remains committed to secular values and equidistant from both the NDA and INDIA bloc.
Meanwhile, OPCC chief Bhakta Charan Das alleged a tacit deal between the BJD and BJP, hinting that a faction led by Patnaik and aide V K Pandian may merge with the saffron party. BJP’s Babu Singh called the row an “internal discord” while Odisha Law Minister Prithiviraj Harichandan dismissed Congress’s claims.
