Bhubaneswar: The BJD and the BJP have been locked in war of words over Union minister Dharmendra Pradhan's remarks comparing the Swachh Bharat Mission with Jagannath's chhera panhara (sweeping of chariots).

During a live broadcast on a social networking site, Pradhan had spoken about the two events in the same breath and compared Lord Jagannath's age-old ritual with the Centre's cleanliness campaign.

Taking exception to it, BJD leaders on Monday criticised Pradhan for allegedly insulting the Jagannath cult by comparing the two. Referring to the ritual, in which the scion of the erstwhile of Puri royal family sweeps the floor of the chariots, Pradhan had said: "Jagannath sanskruti is linked to swachhata."

BJD spokesperson Pratap Deb said: "This will hurt the sentiments of the devotees of Lord Jagannath. Anyone, who has done politics over matters related to the Lord, has encountered defeat in the past."

Reacting to it, Pradhan said: "The BJD is trying to mislead people by raising such a non-issue to divert their attention from the missing of keys of ratna bhandar."

He had also invited the BJD's criticism for his statement on the proposed construction of the second Konark temple. The minister, who had visited Lingaraj temple along with sculptor Raghunath Mohapatra, said people of Odisha were glad that Mohapatra's dream to build a second Sun temple would be fulfilled. "His presence in Delhi will support his cause and earn recognition for the sculptors of Odisha." Last year, Mohapatra had announced his plans to build the second Sun temple along the Puri-Bhubaneswar highway, which will be known as Aditya Narayan Temple.

BJD leader Sashi Bhusan Behera said: "The BJP should not play politics on Konark temple issue."

In another development, the Odisha government and the BJD on Monday boycotted the foundation stone laying of the National Skill Training Institute, proposed to be set up at Barang. Though skill development minister Usha Devi and Cuttack's BJD MP Bhart-ruhari Mahtab were invited, they did not turn up. On the other hand, the Odisha government put up hoardings, projecting skill development activities as its own achievements.

Pradhan said: "The Centre has released crores of rupees for the skill development projects in Odisha. But, the state government has failed to utilise a single pie on it. Skill development cannot be achieved through newspaper advertisements and hollow speeches."

BJD chief whip Amar Prasad Satpathy said: "The Centre is imposing its own schemes on Odisha."