The Mohan Charan Majhi government's attempt to gain the support of women, who lit diyas (earthen lamps) on Friday evening in response to its call to celebrate the successful implementation of the women-centric Subhadra Yojana, has sparked controversy with the Opposition questioning the appropriateness of the celebrations while crimes against women are on the rise.

The BJD and the Congress accused the state government of trying to politicise the issue of women empowerment through the Subhadra Yojana. They alleged that the state BJP government was aping the trend of candle lighting and gong beating during the Covid pandemic on the call of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The state government had appealed to the beneficiaries of the Subhadra scheme, meant exclusively for women, to light up diyas across the state to mark the one crore membership landmark. Deputy chief minister Pravati Parida said: "The Subhadra beneficiaries lit up diyas to commemorate crossing the one crore milestone. They lit up the diyas for their happiness and progress. They celebrated women empowerment."

More than ₹5,000 crore from the state's exchequer has been disbursed to the accounts of Subhadra beneficiaries in five phases. The scheme aims to replace Mission Shakti, a women empowerment initiative launched by the previous BJD government.

"Why should we light diyas? In the name of women's empowerment, no one should resort to petty politics and try to take advantage. It's a political gimmick only,” Bhubaneswar mayor and BJD leader Sulochana Das told The Telegraph.

The BJD's Rajya Sabha member Sulata Deo told this paper: "The state has already cut down the Mission Shakti budget. Should we light the diyas at a time when crimes against women are on the rise?"