New Delhi: 

The Congress charge is that these parties had been appealing to the minority voters but were actually working to push the saffron party's agenda in the two states.  The Congress is planning to target regional parties like Janata Dal (United), LJP (Ram Vilas) and HAM in poll-bound Bihar and Biju Janata Dal (BJD) in Odisha over the Waqf bill and will present them as helpers of the saffron party.a

"The Bill brought the actual politics to the surface. Parties like JD-U, LJP (Ram Vilas) and HAM had been claiming that they believe in secularism, democracy and social justice. But the reality is that they help the BJP's divisive politics to stay in power. The Waqf bill is a direct assault on the constitutional rights of Muslims. The BJP said it tried to help the minority community through changes in the existing law but the move is oppressive and interference in community matters. The Constitution has given rights to all the minority groups to take care of their religion-related properties and this has been going on for years,"

"The opposition is trying hard to stop the saffron party and its allies from coming to power again in the state again," he said. The JD (U)-BJP alliance has been there in Bihar for two decades but the saffron party came to power in Odisha in 2024 by defeating the BJD.

"The protests were successful. Our MLAs who raised the issue in the Assembly are still suspended. But we will continue to flag the issue of crimes against women and seek answers from both the BJD which was in power till 2024 and the ruling BJP. The protests will be taken forward and will be conducted at the district level across the state,"  

The Congress which had been pushed to the margins in Odisha, has been struggling to fight back. Recently, the new All India Congress Committee (AICC) in charge Ajay Kumar Lallu and state unit chief Bhakta Charan Das launched major protests in the state to flag high rates of crimes against women and seek answers from the government in an attempt to occupy the political space of the main opposition.

"We will protest over other issues as well including the protection of forest rights of the tribals and the waqf bill. The main opposition BJD actually strengthened the agenda of the BJP by supporting the bill. That is why we say the two parties are two sides of the same coin. The BJD has surrendered its ideology at the BJP headquarters in Delhi and is being run from there. They are least bothered about the issues related to the voters and are busy implementing the saffron party’s agenda due to fear of the central agencies. The people are taking note of all this and will give them a befitting reply at an appropriate time," he said.

Lallu said besides the protests, the Congress will also focus on strengthening the organisation at the block level so it can become the voice of the voters.

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