Bhubaneswar, Sept. 10: The state government has refused to air Prime Minister Narendra Modi's address to students and teachers tomorrow on the occasion of Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya's centenary celebrations and the 125th anniversary of Swami Vivekananda's address at the Chicago World Parliament of Religions.

Earlier, the University Grant Commission (UGC) had issued notices to universities and heads of higher educational institutions to make required arrangements for the purpose, including the installation of television sets and projection facility.

Modi's speech is scheduled to be aired at 10.30am tomorrow. The UGC had asked the institutions under it to encourage students and teachers to take part in the event and watch the Prime Minister's speech.

The Modi's speech is on "Young lndia, New lndia - A Resurgent Nation: from Sankalp to Sidhhi".

His speech is likely to revolve around the contribution of Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya and the relevance and significance of Swami Vivekananda's teachings in the backdrop of today's social milieu.

Higher education minister Ananta Das said: "The educational institutions are busy with student union election activities, and there is tension on campus. At this point, it's not possible to make required arrangements."

"We are deeply pained to see that Swami Vivekananda's name figures second in the list in the invitation card. This is a disrespect to Swami Vivekananda," he said.

The Congress also backed the Naveen Patnaik government on the issue."

"It is not proper on part of the political parties to impose the thoughts and speeches of its leader on students," said leader of Opposition Narasingha Mishra.

However, the BJP criticised the move of the state government.

"Naveen Patnaik is scared of Modi ji. Election is not being held in all the colleges. The state government is unnecessarily doing politics on the issue," said BJP spokesperson Golak Mohapatra.

Backing the state government's decision, BJP vice-president Damodar Rout said: "Deendayal may be a great personality. But, he was propagating the Hindu religion and mixed it with politics. No state government should allow any kind of propaganda, especially those that encourage communalism."

Considering the state government's stance, most educational institutes in the state are reluctant to follow the UGC's instructions.

Registrar of Rama Devi Women's University Jayant Sarangi said: "We are yet to take a decision on the issue and waiting for a communication from the state government. We will take up the issue with the vice-chancellor tomorrow morning."

Odisha joins the Mamata Banerjee government in Bengal that has also decided not to follow the UGC's instructions.

Bengal education minister Partha Chatterjee said: "We are not accepting and following the UGC's circular. I have already told all the universities and educational institutes."

"We feel that this is an attempt of saffronisation of education. Every time they just cannot send such circulars without consulting with the state governments in advance," he said.