Samajwadi Party (SP) State president Rabi Behera has urged the State Government to stop the bidding process for live telecast right of the Rath Yatra at Puri for this sake of the crores of devotees and the people who love Jagannath culture.
In a letter to Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, Behera said the decision of the Shree Jagannath Temple Administration to invite tender for the right of live
telecast of the Car festival this year is commercialisation of the fest.
Notably, the SJTA has invited a tender for telecast rights for live telecast of Rath Yatra-2019 vide its letter No.- 5917 dated 04.06.2019. The tender papers will be opened on June 10 by 4.45 pm.
However, Behera said, “This, in our view is nothing but commercialisation of the Car Festival and Jagannath culture which has shocked crores of devotees of the Lord which named as the Lord. Such bidding will create hindrance for common people who will be deprived of the view of the live telecast of the Lord.
Such a move by the Shree Jagannath Temple Administration has angered the devotees of the Lord and it may lead to further unrest during the Car festival."
Behera further took a dig at the SJTA, saying while the temple administration has failed to stop encroachment of thousand acres of Jagannath land by mafias, commercialisation of telecast of the Car Festival rights is expected to create furors among the devotees of the Lord.