Bhubaneswar: The Naveen Patnaik-led Biju Janata Dal (BJD), which is now sitting in the opposition after having ruled Odisha for 24 years, would oppose the Waqf (Amendment) Bill as and when it is tabled in the Rajya Sabha.
The BJD has eight members in the Rajya Sabha which can make things difficult for the BJP-led NDA which lacks a majority on its own in the Upper House. The Bill, which is facing resistance from the opposition, is presently being looked into by a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) to which it was referred following objections from several quarters.
This is the first time in several years that the BJD has decided to oppose an important Bill tabled by the NDA government in the Parliament. In the past, the regional party, which lost the last assembly elections paving the way for the formation of a BJP government in Odisha for the first time, has been supporting the NDA government almost consistently.
The last time BJD had objected to a Bill brought in by the Narendra Modi-led NDA government was in 2015 when it had expressed reservations against the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Amendment Bill insisting on the insertion of some major changes into the legislation.
BJD’s consistent support for NDA in past years
The BJD otherwise has been supporting the BJP-led NDA faithfully inside the parliament despite following an avowed policy of staying equidistant from BJP as well as the Congress. Though BJD and BJP ruled Odisha as coalition partners from 2000 to 2009, they parted ways ahead of the assembly elections held that year.
Ever since, they have fought elections as rivals but BJD supremo Naveen Patnaik developed friendly relations with Prime Minister Narendra Modi when he came to power in Delhi at the head of an NDA government. While the BJD lent support to several controversial legislations brought by the Modi-led NDA government in the Parliament including scrapping of article 370, Triple Talaq and Citizenship Amendment bills, the Prime Minister came to the rescue of Odisha whenever it faced a natural disaster.
The Modi government was more generous and consistent in providing financial assistance to the state than its predecessors. Patnaik and Modi also refrained from attacking each other in public, even while campaigning for elections.
All this, however, changed in the last elections when the Prime Minister for the first time even made personal attacks against Patnaik and also targeted his Man Friday, bureaucrat-turned-politician VK Pandian.
The campaign that followed a failed attempt at the revival of BJD-BJP alliance was one of the most bitter seen in recent times and signalled the end of Patnaik-Modi camaraderie.
Party’s defeat at the hands of BJP and end of bonhomie
The defeat in these elections at the hands of BJP made the BJD realise the folly of lending support to the NDA despite treating the saffron party as its rival in the state.
This had made a mockery of its so-called policy of equidistance from BJP and Congress and exposed it to public ridicule. This sham of BJD supporting its rival inside the parliament while opposing it in the state resulted in loss of credibility for the party in the eyes of the public, which ultimately resulted in the state and Lok Sabha election losses.
The defeat left the BJD completely disillusioned as the party not only lost power in the state but also failed to win a single Lok Sabha seat for the first time in its history. The party decided to oppose the BJP tooth and nail both inside and outside the Parliament.
While Patnaik issued his Rajya Sabha MPs clear instructions in this regard, party spokesperson Sasmit Patra, who happens to be a member of the Upper House, also made a categorical announcement in this regard soon after the elections. The MP asserted that there was no question of supporting the BJP as BJD had decided to act as a strong and vibrant opposition to ensure that Odisha’s genuine demands were not ignored by the NDA government.
The decision to oppose the Waqf (amendment) bill is in tune with this line of the party which seems to have realised, though a little late, that blind support to the NDA government has dented its secular image while also exposing it to public criticism for following a dual policy towards the BJP – that of backing it at the Centre and opposing it in the state.
‘Attempts to erase the legacy of Biju Patnaik’
The Waqf Bill issue was discussed at the meeting of the party’s minority cell held at Shankha Bhavan, its headquarters in Bhubaneswar on Thursday. Following the meeting, which was chaired by Patnaik, BJD Rajya Sabha MP Muzibullah Khan alias Munna Khan said that the Waqf amendment bill. which was with the JPC right now, would be opposed by the party.
“ We will oppose it when it comes to the Rajya Sabha. Our party has taken this decision,” said Khan.
Former BJD MLA and firebrand leader Latika Pradhan also confirmed that her party was determined to oppose the Bill in the Parliament.
“They are making amendments and bringing such bills only to suit their ends. They have been doing it all the time. This is also being done in Odisha. Right now they are trying to change the name of the iconic Ravenshaw university. There are attempts to erase the legacy of late Biju Patnaik by removing his name from various schemes of the government. Most of the changes that they are trying to make are intentional and unnecessary,” said Pradhan.
Political analyst Sabita Mohanty feels that the decision to oppose the Waqf (Amendment) Bill is an indication that the BJD has learnt its lessons from the shock defeat in the recent elections.
“They had been backing the BJP and the NDA at the Centre almost blindly and trying to justify it as issue-based support. They thought that BJD was invincible and people would meekly accept whatever they did. But people saw through this sham and voted them out of power. Now the realisation has dawned on BJD top brass that their support for BJP was nothing short of political hara-kiri. They are unlikely to repeat the mistake again and this is in their best interest,” said Mohanty.
