Bhubaneswar: The BJD intends to stage a demonstration outside Raj Bhavan on Nov 24 in protest against the proposed Waqf Amendment Bill, which is currently under review by a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC).
The decision was taken during a meeting of BJD’s minority cell at the party office. Party’s minority cell chief Munna Khan, former ministers Debi Mishra, Atanu Sabyasachi Nayak and other senior leaders attended the meeting.
The opposition party claimed the Bill, if passed, would enable govt takeover of Waqf properties. Senior BJD leader Ekram Hussain said the party would submit a memorandum to the governor, addressed to the President of India, outlining their concerns.
Dismissing BJD’s concerns, BJP’s state minority wing president Sikandar Ali said the amendment would protect interests of the minority community. “BJD is organising this protest purely for political gains,” Ali said.
BJD’s decision to launch a protest follows the recent visit of the Parliamentary committee to Odisha, where they gathered public opinion on the proposed amendment as part of their multi-state consultation process. The JPC is expected to submit its report in the winter session of Parliament.