Bhubaneswar (Odisha) [India], May 4 (ANI): Odisha Law Minister Prithiviraj Harichandan on Sunday said that the participation of Jagannath Puri Temple servitors in the consecration ceremony of Digha Jagannath Temple has become an “emotional and sentimental thing” for all devotees of Lord Jagannath.
Regarding this, Prithiviraj Harichandan informed that he has written a letter to the Chief Administrator of Shree Jagannath Temple, Arabinda Kumar Padhee, to conduct an internal inquiry.
“The situation created by some of the servitors has become a sentimental thing for all devotees of Lord Jagannath…On behalf of the state government, we have written a letter to the temple administration to look into the matter seriously and institute an inquiry so that the truth must come out in the process,” Prithiviraj Harichandan said.
He said that the servitors can visit any temple, but “conducting puja” in another temple is “unethical.”
“The basic thing is that there is no bar for anybody, any servitor or whoever is associated with Jagannath temple to visit other temples. But conducting ‘puja’ in another place is unethical because they have been assigned to do the ‘puja’ at Mahaprabhu Sri Jagannath’s temple only. So it’s the prime duty of the administration to look into this kind of indisciplinary act that some of the servitors have done,” Harichandan said.
The controversy erupted after West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee inaugurated the Rs 250-crore temple on April 30, with critics in Odisha, including BJP leaders, objecting to its ‘Jagannath Dham’ label.
The servitors of Jagannath Puri Temple also participated in the consecration ceremony of the temple in Digha.
Earlier in the day, the Chief Servitor of the Puri Jagannath Temple strongly criticised the West Bengal government’s decision to declare the newly built Jagannath temple in Digha “Jagannath Dham,” calling it a “political stunt.”
Speaking to ANI, Chief Servitor Daitapati Bhabani Das Mohapatra said that, according to sacred texts, there are only four recognised dhams (pilgrimage sites) — and no other place can be called a ‘dham.’
Mohapatra accused the Mamata Banerjee-led West Bengal government of acting out of “arrogance” and said the move was politically motivated. He urged the government to withdraw the use of the term ‘dham’.
The Rs 250-crore temple in Digha, built over 20 acres, was inaugurated by West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday. The temple is inspired by the 12th-century Shree Jagannath Temple in Puri and houses the same deities. (ANI)
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