Even as the controversy over the alleged misbehaviour  by  some sevayats during  President Ram Nath Kovind’s visit to the Puri Shreemandir refuses to die down, Revenue Minister Maheswar Mohanty on Friday said no  such incident  at all took place.

Mohanty, who was present during the visit, said no such incident occurred in the temple and the Shree Jagannath Temple Administrator (SJTA) Chief Administrator has already clarified on it. When asked why the issue was raised during the administration committee meeting, he said only the former SJTA Chief Administrator can answer why such issue was raised during the meeting.

Union Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas Dharmendra Pradhan, who also accompanied the President to the temple, said, “I do not know any such thing happened. There is no question of any written communiqué being sent from the President’s office. I do not know for what reason the controversy was created and who created it.”

“On what basis BJD spokesperson Pratap Deb said that. Who informed him about thatIJ Whether it is the Chief Minister or the Chief SecretaryIJ Who is speaking the truth, Deb or the Chief SecretaryIJ” questioned Pradhan.

He further said the Chief Minister must clarify what is the truth. In a related development, Suar-Mahasuar Nijog (servitors' organisation), Damodar Mahasuar on Thursday lodged an FIR at the Singhadwara police station against Puri Collector Arvind Agarwal and former SJTA chief Pradeep Jena, accusing them of trying to defame the servitors of the temple.

Assistant secretary of another sevayat’s body Binayak Dasmohapatra  said, “If such an incident had taken place, the police should have arrested the servitors immediately.”

The temple administration is trying to malign the entire servitor community, he alleged.

“Why the temple administration and the police did not take actionIJ Why did the temple administration not make the incident public after the meeting on March 20IJ" Dasmohapatra asked.