"Waqf Amendment Bill is debatable issue": BJD Vice-President Debi Prasad Mishra

Bhubaneswar (Odisha) [India], April 5 (ANI): Calling the Waqf Amendment Bill 2025 a "debatable issue," Odisha: BJD Vice-President Debi Prasad Mishra on Friday said that it is up to BJD MPs whether they want to support the Bill or not.
"Regarding the Waqf Amendment Bill and the voting of the Rajya Sabha MPs, BJD President Naveen Patnaik said that we are very secular and the Jagannatha principle is the principle of co-existence...It is up to them (BJD MPs) whether they want to support it or not...This (Waqf Amendment Bill) is a purely debatable issue," Mishra told ANI.
Congress MP Jairam Ramesh accused the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) of succumbing to BJP pressures at the last moment, which he believes reduced the numbers opposing the passage of the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2025, bill in the Rajya Sabha.
"The vote in the Lok Sabha on the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024, was 288-232. In the Rajya Sabha, it was 128-95. The victory margin for the BJP was small. In fact, in the Rajya Sabha, it was actually a setback for the ruling party, and there was shock on the Treasury Benches that the Opposition mustered up such support. The 95 number would have been more had not the BJD capitulated to BJP pressures at the last minute," the Congress MP said on X.
Biju Janata Dal (BJD) leader Sasmit Patra on Friday extended his support to the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2025 and said that he has supported the bill.
"The party has decided that the MPs were to vote as per their conscience and left it to the MPs to decide. I have not discussed this with the MPs so far. I have supported the bill. Others MP what they have done whether they have walked out or abstained or they have supported, that I can not say," Patra said.
The passage of the Waqf (Amendment) Bill has sparked political tremors, with the BJP-led government securing a narrow win in the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha.
Rajya Sabha sat beyond Thursday midnight to pass the legislation. Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar said, "Ayes 128 and Noes 95, Absent zero. The Bill is passed." Lok Sabha, which took up discussion on the Waqf (Amendment) Bill on Wednesday, passed it past midnight after a marathon debate with 288 MPs voted in favour of the Bill while 232 against it.
The government introduced the revised bill after incorporating the recommendations of the Joint Parliamentary Committee, which examined the legislation introduced in August last year. The bill seeks to amend the Act of 1995 and improve the administration and management of Waqf properties in India.
The bill aims to overcome the shortcomings of the previous act and enhance the efficiency of Waqf boards, improving the registration process and increasing the role of technology in managing waqf records. (ANI)