Muslim leaders claim cm gave assurance not to panic over CAB,

A delegation of the Muslim leaders from the coastal region of Odisha on Friday claimed that Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik assured them during a meeting here that there was no need to panic over the amended Citizenship Act or the NRC.

This was claimed by Md. Abdul Bari, president of "Chouda Mahala Muslim Jamat", an apex body of the Muslims in the coastal region having its headquarter in the Bhadrak town.

Ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD) supported Citizenship (Amendment) Bill in both Houses of Parliament.

"The Chief Minister assured us that there is no need for the muslim community in the state to panic over either National Register of Citizens or the amended Citizenship Act," Bari told reporters after meeting the chief minister.

 

However, the Chief Ministers Office (CMO) was silent on the claims made by the Muslim leaders delegation which met Patnaik at his office in the Lok Seva Bhawan.

"We are not sure what exactly transpired between the chief minister and the Muslim leaders," a senior official at the CMO told PTI.

BJD which has 12 MPs in the Lok Sabha and seven in the Rajya Sabha voted in favour of CAB alongside BJP.

Bari claimed the cm told them that "BJD will not support NRC."

Members of the Muslim community of Bhadrak and some other districts have been staging protests over CAB and the NRC.

Patnaik had invited the agitators for a discussion, Bari said adding "We are now going back after getting full assurance that the state will not implement NRC in Odisha."

Muslims whose population is 9,11,670 in Odisha according to the 2011 census are spread over different districts including Bhadrak, Cuttack, Jajpur, Jagatsinghpur, Balasore, Khurda, Kendrapara, Sundergarh and Puri.