Bhubaneswar, April 4 -- 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)...