Bhubaneswar, Sep 5 : A war of words ensued between the members of the ruling BJP and Opposition BJD in the Odisha Assembly on Thursday over the Ravenshaw University name change issue.

The row erupted following the statement of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan in this regard, a couple of days ago.

BJD leader Byomakesh Ray raised the issue in the House during the Zero Hour and demanded a statement by Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi confirming the Odisha government's stand on the issue in the wake of the rising student discontent over it.

Ray asserted that Ravenshaw University, named after the then Commissioner of Odisha, TE Ravenshaw, has remained a milestone in the development of modern education in the state for 156 years.

He further stated that the then Odisha Commissioner TE Ravenshaw, after whom the university has been named, joined just a few months before the devastating famine in 1866.

The BJD MLA asserted that Ravenshaw had laid special emphasis on the use of Odia language in schools instead of Bengali.

Meanwhile, Congress leader Sofia Firdous also said that Ravenshaw University was a notable educational institution of the state which boasts of having a galaxy of great intellectual alumni.

She also urged the government to make its stand clear on the name change row.

'Old students as well as the students currently studying in the institution and intellectuals are demanding a statement from CM Majhi on the matter. We also today sought a clarification from the CM in this regard. Those who want to change the name of Ravenshaw University are trying to turn a non-issue into an issue.

'We oppose this move to turn a non-issue into an issue instead of addressing more important matters concerning the institution,' Ray told media persons outside the House on Thursday.

He warned that the student agitation would be intensified if any steps were taken to change the name of Ravenshaw University.

Countering the BJD's allegations, BJP MLA Irasis Acharya said, 'They (BJD) were ruled by an IAS officer from another state and the party is yet to get rid of its habit. When Rome was burning, Nero was playing music. Similarly, when lakhs of Odia people were dying in the famine, Ravenshaw went on 70-days' leave.'

Referring to the statement of the Union Education Minister, Acharya said that it was not right to raise someone's personal statement in the Assembly.

Notably, Education Minister Pradhan had recently told media persons that the people of Odisha as well as intellectuals should ponder whether we need an institute named after Ravenshaw during whose tenure the devastating famine in 1866 occurred in Odisha.

/IANS