Patna, Jan. 7: The BJP today grumbled and the state government denied any foul play in its action, a day after the party was denied permission to host Karpoori Thakur Jayanti at Miller School grounds on January 23.

Education minister Brishen Patel claimed that the ground had been allotted to the labour department on January 23 strictly on the basis of 'first-come-first-served'. But Singh's explanation did not impress the BJP, which had planned a grand show on January 23 with the party's national president, Amit Shah, on the dais.

A day after his department red-flagged the proposed Shah show at Miller School grounds, education minister Patel said: 'The education department had received an application from the labour department on December 6 stating that it wanted to hold a recruitment camp at Miller School grounds on January 23. The BJP's application was received on December 19. So, we allotted the field to the labour department on the first-come-first-served basis. Had the BJP applied earlier, we would have given them the field.'

Patel claimed he was unaware that Shah would address the programme.

The BJP is livid. 'The education minister is lying. He told Sushil Kumar Modi and me in the state legislative House that he would give the ground to us for the January 23 programme. He even called the director of his department and instructed him to allot the field to us,' said state BJP president Mangal Pandey.

'Our MLA Nitin Navin was coordinating the allotment of the field and had met the director and the education department's principal secretary half a dozen times. He was never told that the labour department had applied for the venue on the same date. All of a sudden we have been told that the field was not available,' said Pandey, alleging that the field was denied to his party at the behest of former chief minister Nitish Kumar.

Pandey said the BJP was searching for an alternative venue. The Miller School grounds on Veer Chand Patel Marg can host 10,000 to 15,000 people. Any party can organise an event there within a month because it can be packed just by bringing people from the adjoining areas of the city.

Political leaders said a party needs at least three months to give a respectable look to rallies at Gandhi Maidan. At least two lakh people are required to give the Maidana a packed look.

Taking its smaller but respectable size into count, the Miller School field has been the favourite venue of the BJP for hosting events over the years. Some BJP leaders claimed that they had been facing hurdles in getting the allotment of the Miller School field ever since the JDU snapped its ties with their party.

In 2013, the two parties had crossed swords when the permission to the BJP to hold its workers' meet at Miller School grounds was withdrawn citing that fields of educational institutes cannot be given to political parties for holding functions. Then BJP chief Rajnath Singh was supposed to address the meet.

During the run-up to the 'Hunkar Rally' addressed by Narendra Modi in October2013, there was a standoff between the JDU and the BJP over the allotment of Gandhi Maidan. The BJP leaders were flummoxed when they got a letter stating that only half the Maidan could be used. The BJP leaders had warned that they would use the entire Gandhi Maidan for the rally even without the district magistrate's permission.