Bhubaneswar, Jan 13 (PTI) The ruling BJP on Monday alleged that a restaurant was operating illegally at the BJD's headquarters in Bhubaneswar.

Rejecting the allegation, the Naveen Patnaik-led party said the BJP should refrain from "cheap politics".

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Addressing a press conference, BJP leader Jagannath Pradhan said the BJD was misusing the land provided to it by the government.

"While allotting the land, the government order clearly stated that the land will be used exclusively for the office purpose and the use shall not be changed without prior approval of the authority," Pradhan said.

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He claimed the BJD illegally "converted" the Sankha Bhawan into a restaurant.

"This is perhaps the first time that a party has constructed a restaurant on land allotted to it by the government for office purposes. This has led to speculation if BJD's funds have dried up after it lost power in the state," he asked.

The BJP leader urged Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi to order an inquiry into the allegations.

Senior BJD leader Arun Kumar Sahoo said the BJP should concentrate on running the government instead of doing "cheap politics".

"When Sankha Bhawan was established, it had been clearly said that it was an office of people. Meetings are being held here almost every day. There is a canteen on the premises. Along with leaders, several people are coming here to have food. There are canteens in railway buildings and also in Parliament. I would also like to invite BJP leaders to have food at the canteen here," he said.

Meanwhile, the Congress said it was odd that a political party was running a restaurant.

"It should not be a practice," Congress leader Nishikant Mishra said.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)