BHUBANESWAR: BJD‘s internal discord over the flip-flop surrounding voting on the Waqf Bill took an ugly turn with one of the party’s Rajya Sabha members openly accusing former bureaucrat-turned-politician V K Pandian for the fiasco, drawing flak from party colleagues.
The BJD, which had initially decided to oppose the Bill in Rajya Sabha, allowed its members to vote as per their conscience, resulting in a split voting and causing significant unrest within the party.
Debashish Samantaray, who had abstained during the voting in Rajya Sabha, attributed the sudden change in party’s position to the former bureaucrat. Talking to reporters on Monday, Samantaray said, “Pandian conspired in the entire Waqf episode,” causing unease within the BJD and drawing flak from party colleagues.
Rajya Sabha members Manas Mangaraj, Sulata Deo, Niranjan Bisi and Subhasish Khuntia strongly criticised Samantaray. They maintained that the former bureaucrat-turned-BJD leader has already stepped away from political activities, and blamed Samantaray for unnecessarily dragging him in the dispute.
“It’s very unfortunate to see that my Rajya Sabha colleague Shri Debasish Samantaray has attacked Shri VK Pandian over Waqf Bill decision despite the fact that the latter has already retired from politics 10 months ago and is not participating in any meeting or political activity,” Managaraj posted on X. He emphasised that Naveen takes the final decision on all BJD matters.
“If we have any grievances or concerns, it’s always appropriate to raise these on party forums. Shri Samantaray, instead of following this and going to the media and talking against someone, who is no longer in party politics, shows an ulterior motive misguided by some vested interests,” Mangaraj said.
Deo claimed Samantaray must have been nursing an old grudge against Pandian. “Samantaray had misbehaved with a relative of Pulwama attack martyr Manoj Kumar Behera in February 2019. V K Pandian had then asked Samantaray to apologise to the kin of the martyr. Samantaray had nurtured a grudge against Pandian. Samantaray slept during Waqf voting in Rajya Sabha. He should refrain from creating unpleasant situations in Naveen Niwas.”
Bisi also defended Pandian. “It seems Samantaray carried an ulterior motive. Pandian should not be dragged into the controversy,” Bisi wrote on social media. Khuntia echoed similar sentiments. “Pandian already withdrawn from politics. He should not be blamed,” Khuntia said.
Despite repeated attempts, Pandian could not be contacted for his response. “He will not speak to the media,” an aide of Pandian said.
