The Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee (OPCC) on Friday asked the Naveen Patnaik government to furnish details of the expenditure incurred towards the publicity of Shreemandira Parikrama Prakalpa (Puri Jagannath Temple Heritage Corridor) project.

The party also sought details of expenditures relating to the movement of Arpan Raths (four-wheelers carrying replicas of the idols of Lord Jagannath) across the state to invite devotees to visit Puri and see the transformation of Puri under the project.

There seems to be no end to the controversy surrounding the project which was inaugurated on Wednesday. With the clear sign that the BJD would go to the polls projecting the successful implementation of the prakalpa as a big achievement, the Opposition Congress has made it clear that it would put the Naveen government on the back foot by raising various issues about the implementation of the project.

On the other hand, Naveen on Thursday launched the Jagannath Express connecting Puri with various districts. The women travelling in the luxury buses will get a 50 per cent discount on fare.

At a press conference here at the Congress Bhavan on Friday, senior Congress leader and former finance minister Panchanan Kanungo said: “Crores of rupees were spent in the name of Arpan Raths and publicity about the Prakalpa.

“The way the Arpan Raths moved around the state, collecting rice, betel nuts and money from the devotees, has hurt the religious sentiments of the people. The chief minister should apologise for it.”

Stepping up its attack, the Congress has asked the government to present details of how much quantity of rice and money it received from devotees.

“We are coming across reports that at many places the rice collected from the people was dumped. We want to know the condition and status of the rice dumped at various places,” Kanungo demanded.

Senior Congress leader Sudarshan Das said: “To facilitate the movement of the raths, the state government gave Rs 2 lakh to each panchayat and Rs 5 lakh to each block of the state. Similarly, Rs 1 lakh was given to each ward of the municipality and Rs 5 lakh to each municipal corporation. Then the total money spent on the movement of the Arpan Raths alone would cost the state exchequer around Rs 250 crore.”