Bhubaneswar: The flight of governor Ganeshi Lal from New Delhi to his hometown Sirsa in Haryana in a chopper last month has sparked a controversy with the state government asking his secretariat to clarify "the reason and circumstances for hiring a helicopter".

Lal had flown to New Delhi from Bhubaneswar on June 10 and was back here on June 13 using a private special twin-engine jet aircraft Legacy 650 (VT-AOK).

On June 10, Lal had hired the jet aircraft from the Pinnacle Air Private Limited for his flight from Bhubaneswar to New Delhi and back. The chopper provider had charged Rs 41.18 lakh for the trip, while the company had billed an additional Rs 5 lakh for Lal's flight from New Delhi to Sirsa and back.

In a letter to the special secretary, Raj Bhavan, the deputy secretary, general administration, has asked the Governor's House "to intimate the reasons and circumstances for hiring of a helicopter for use of Hon'ble Governor and deviation in the approved schedule of the flight and whether approval of the competent authority has been taken for the purpose or not".

Speaking to The Telegraph, special secretary, Raj Bhavan, Himanshu Patnaik said: "Due approval was taken for the governor's use of the chopper. As the Sirsa airport was not ready for landing of a jet aircraft, a chopper was hired. We will reply to the government's queries."

Patnaik said the governor had visited New Delhi "because of prior engagements".

Lal was sworn in as the governor on May 29. A RSS activist and BJP leader from Sirsa, he was the chairman of the BJP's national disciplinary committee before being appointed Odisha governor. He was also a minister in the Bansi Lal-led coalition government between 1996-99.

The BJP, however, reacted sharply to the state government's letter to the Raj Bhavan on the issue. Vice-president of the BJP state unit Samir Mohanty said: "The governor is the head of the state and holds a constitutional post. No politics should be done over him."

He said that the chief minister and several of his ministers frequently use choppers to travel across the state.

He added that on June 16, scheduled castes and scheduled tribes minister Ramesh Majhi had gone to Gona in Nabarangpur district on June 16 in a chopper to lay foundation stone of Biju Setu. He had taken a BJD delegation with him."

BJD spokesperson Samir Dash, however, said that the issue was being "needlessly politicised by the BJP. The Government officials are doing their job by seeking clarifications from the Governor's House on administrative grounds. No one should impute motive into this," Dash said.