Former IAS officer-turned-politician and Bhubaneswar’s BJP MP Aparajita Sarangi on Thursday hit out at the Odisha government for not inviting her to the 73rd state-level Van Mahotsav celebrations held at Bhubaneswar.

The protocol demands that all the local public representatives of the area should be invited to functions organised by the state government in a specific area.

However, Ashok Chandra Panda, a minister in Naveen government, hit back at Aparajita and said that before pointing accusing fingers at others, she should think about how the local MLAs and ministers are not invited to the various functions of the Government of India.

As a mark of protest against the perceived humiliation of their MP, BJP workers on Thursday staged a demonstration and cautioned the state government that they would take up the issue further.

Sarangi said: “All are invited — Hon’ble chief minister, MLAs and the mayor. Surprisingly, the local elected MP has neither been invited nor informed. The local corporator was also missing.”

Sharpening her attack on the government, Sarangi said: “Is this insecurity of the state government or its fear or its narrow mindedness or arrogance or all four put together. How do we explain this.”

Expressing her dismay, Sarangi said she was not invited on the state capital's Foundation Day which was celebrated on April 13. “I had raised the issue. The MLAs, MPs and corportators have been elected by people, and not by anybody's mercy. Non invitations of public representatives to the government functions erode the democratic value system itself. It’s an insult to the democratic system itself. It points out the insecurity, narrow-mindedness and ego of the government. It should be condemned.”

On the other hand, wearing black badges, the BJP workers organised a dharna near the venue in presence of a heavy security cordon. “I am the local corporator. But I have not been invited to the function. Even our MP has not been invited to the function. We will take up the issue at the party level and come out with a concrete plan to protest such behaviour," said the local corporator, Rama Ranasigh.

On the issue of non-invitation to Sarangi, BJD (Bhubaneswar-Ekamra ) MLA and minister Ashok Chandra Panda said there were instances of central government functions where he was not invited. “Charity begins at home. Everyone knows how I had fought to organise land for the establishment of Kendriya Vidyalayas in Pokhariput

and Kalinga Vihar in Bhubaneswar. But during their inaugural function, I was also not invited. These are the only stray incidents. There are many incidents where I have been sidelined. But these small issues should not be politicised,” Panda told The Telegraph.

He said: “Had Aparajita Sarangi came to the function, we would certainly have invited her to the dais. We have no ego problem. When one of our officers went to give an invitation card to the local BJP corporator, he was quite annoyed at not seeing his name on the card. Even he tore up the card and threw it on the face of the officer. Should’t this be condemned?”