Lucknow, Jan 24 (IANS): The Goraksh Peeth in Gorakhpur has now been drawn into a major political controversy.

BSP chief Mayawati's tweet, equating the Gorakhnath temple to a "large bungalow", has triggered a sharp response from Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, who is the head of the Goraksh Peeth.

Yogi Adityanath has invited Mayawati to "visit the shrine and find peace".

The chief minister tweeted: "Behen ji, Baba Gorakhnath carried out penance at Gorakshpeeth in Gorakhpur, which is etched with memories of rishis, saints and freedom fighters. It is a temple of Hindu gods and goddess. This centre of social justice has been working for welfare of all. Come sometime, you will find peace."

Lashing out at Yogi Adityanath's campaign speech in which he charged opposition leaders with leading an opulent lifestyle, Mayawati said, "Maybe people of west UP do not know that Gorakhpur mutt in which Yogi ji spends most of his time, is no less than a large bungalow. He should have spoken about this as well."

Mayawati also said that while speaking on achievements of his government, the chief minister could have also mentioned work done by the BSP government.

"It would have also been better if Yogi ji spoke about development work done by my party, which has had an excellent record in providing houses to poor and giving land to the landless," she said.

The BSP chief added that her government had given houses to the underprivileged under just two phases of Kanshi Ram Urban Poor Housing Scheme and several families had benefitted under Sarvajan Hitaye Garib Aawas Malikana Haq Yojana.