BJD organised a meeting of the Muslim community members with Naveen Patnaik to neutralise the anger of the Muslims in the state.
In an attempt to bolster the Muslim community members’ support back into the Biju Janata Dal’s fold after supporting the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Friday met some Muslim leaders and assured NRC would not be implemented in the state.
After CM Naveen Patnaik supported the CAB, a major chunk of Muslims said they felt betrayed. In view of it, BJD organised a meeting of the Muslim community members with Naveen Patnaik to neutralise the anger of the Muslims in the state.
The meeting took place in CM Naveen Patnaik’s office.
However, none from Balasore and Jajpur came to attend the meeting. Out of nine members from Bhadrak district, only three-four came from one family.
BJD minority cell general secretary Dilshan Sekhar and several other members within the party minority cell of Balasore district told India Today TV that they feel like they have been betrayed by their own party.
“We feel like betrayed by our own party. We will take an appropriate decision soon whether to stay in the party which is not secular anymore.”
However, Abdul Bari of Bhadrakh district said, “Naveen has said there was some compulsion so we had to support the CAB.”
Abdul Bari also said Naveen Patnaik has assured him that the BJD won’t support NRC in Odisha and allayed apprehensions over the safety of their community after the Citizenship (Amendment) Act. “The chief minister told us not to panic about the enactment of CAB,” Bari said.
Source: India Today
