Holding Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik solely responsible for the delay in the Brahma Parivartan ritual of lord Jagannath and His siblings and the unruly scene inside the Shree Mandir, the Congress on Friday demanded the resignation of Patnaik and a judicial probe into the shocking incident.
“What happened in the closed temple on Monday-Tuesday has hurt the sentiments of crores of Jagannath devotees across the globe. Unfortunately, the Chief Minister who is duty-bound to ensure proper administrative control of the temple without political interference, is yet to utter a word on the issue,” said PCC president Prasad Harichandan here at a Press conference.
He said the Chief Minister has failed to ensure smooth the Nabakalebar festival and must, therefore, step down from his position.
Maintaining that the last Nabakalebar in 1996 was a successful event due to the personal involvement of the then Chief Minister JB Patnaik, Harichandan accused Naveen Patnaik of shirking his responsibilities.
“The statement of Gajapati Maharaja Dibyasingh Deb that the Government has perhaps failed to control the unruly elements (among temple servitors) has exposed the reality. It is now clear that political interference is taking place in temple affairs,” alleged Harichandan.
By appointing Puri BJD MlA Maheswar Mohanty as the Nabakalebar Infrastructure Supervision Committee Chairman, the Chief Minister has tried to interfere in the temple affairs, he claimed.
leader of Opposition in the Assembly Narasingha Mishra stated that the State Government, keeping in view the sensitiveness of the issue, should write to the Odisha High Court Chief Justice to spare a sitting Judge to conduct an impartial probe.
Senior leader lalatendu Bidyadhar Mohapatra alleged that some unruly Daitapatis have video-rerecorded and photographed the Brahma and the entire ritual breaking the age-old tradition.
“I am told that nine persons had entered the restricted Brahma Parivartan room along with the prescribed four Badagrahis. The unauthorised people have photographed and video-graphed the entire soul transfer ritual,” said Mohapatra.
He claimed that various Nabakalebar projects would not be completed within the stipulated time.
The party workers would also hold a fast and observe silence from June 26 evening to June 27morning (on the 13th day of burial of old idols).