New Delhi, Mar 23 (IANS): The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Biju Janata Dal (BJD) Thursday slammed the central government for not cooperating in the case of abduction of two Italian nationals in Odisha, and demanding a statement from it.

BJD leader B. Mahtab raised the issue in the lower house during zero hour Thursday, and was backed by the BJP and Shiv Sena.

BJP leader L. K. Advani termed it as a serious issue and lamented a lack of communication between the central government and the state government.

He demanded that either home minister or external affairs minister should make a statement on it when the house meets Monday.

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal said he will convey the message to the government.

Mahtab earlier blamed Home Minister P. Chidambaram for showing a "casual" attitude towards the issue.

The member added that since foreigners were involved in the case, it was central government's responsibility.