Bhubaneswar: The BJD's stance on Assam that no one should politicise the illegal immigrant issue and subsequent praise of the stand taken by BJP president Amit Shah has led the Congress in Odisha to attack the ruling party.

A Congress leader said: "The stand exposes the BJD's secular façade. The two parties are in league, and all this talk about equal distance (from the Congress and the BJP) is a hogwash."

Congress chief whip Tara Prasad Bahinipati said: "The BJD fears the CBI probe as many of their MLAs and MPs are embroiled in sham deposit collection scams, and therefore, the BJD has been supporting the saffron party on key issues."

Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee president Niranjan Patnaik said his party had already spelt out the stand that the BJD was hand in glove with the BJP and would be exposed shortly.

Rajya Sabha member Prasanna Acharya of the BJD said: "We will pledge our support to protect interest of the nation and Odisha. On the national issue, no one should do politics."

Acharya said: "We have also clarified our stance on the National Register of Citizens in Parliament. Many citizens have been excluded, and they should get another chance. It is a sensitive national issue. We are not supporting any party, but will pledge our support to protect interest of the nation and Odisha."

The Odisha BJP welcomes Acharya's statement. "He knows what nationalism is but the Congress is indulging in vote bank politics," said party vice-president Samir Mohanty.

Over 40 lakh people were excluded from the final draft of a list of Indian citizens living in Assam. While other parties have sharply reacted to the exclusion, the BJD supported the bill on the pretext of national interests that has baffled many.

Earlier, the BJD had also supported certain NDA-sponsored issues in the Parliament. The party also staged a walkout during the no-confidence motion debate in the Lok Sabha on July 20. "Every day, there is talk of an alliance between the BJD and the BJP in Odisha. But, senior BJP leader Suresh Pujari on Wednesday categorically ruled out any such possibility. All this is very confusing," admitted a BJD leader.