Bhubaneswar, Sept. 3: After a brief lull, Odisha health minister Damodar Rout and his colleague in BJD and former minister Bishnu Das were locked in a verbal duel once again today.

The two leaders, who belong to Jagatsinghpur district, are known rivals in the district politics. The latest spat between the two leaders comes in the wake of a Dalit rally near the Assembly today.

The rally demanded the resignation of Rout as a minister as he has been criticised by the National Commission for Scheduled Castes for his alleged anti-Dalit remarks.

“Dalit health workers will teach Rout a lesson,” said Das, who has been carrying a relentless campaign against the health minister for the past sometime.

Both Rout and Das have been engaged in a war of supremacy in the politically sensitive Jagatsinghpur district, which remains crucial for the fortunes of the BJD.

Das even took a dig at Rout for having floated Biju Vichar Manch, whose activities have barely been visible ever since its formation.

Indicating that the Manch was nothing but a platform for Rout to air his grievances when he was not in the ministry, Das said: “Where is the Manch now?”

Das also threatened to move court against Rout on the Kujnag cracker blast issue in which he had been targeted by the health minister. Four persons had lost their lives in the blast.

On his part, Rout said that the Jagatsinghpur MLA was free to move the court if he so desired.

“My statement on the issue had followed the death of four persons. The people of Kujang had said that Das, who was one of the organisers of the rally where the blast took place, did not visit the area even once after the mishap.”