Senior BJP leader Bijay Mohapatra on Monday came down heavily on the State Government “for keeping people in dark about a proposal submitted to it by the Iskcon for building a Jagannath temple in Puri more than the height of the Shreemandir.
He said the Iskcon had already submitted a DPR to the State Government and the PKDA to construct a Jagannath temple at Baliapanda in Puri, bigger than the size of the Shree Mandir, in an area of 18 acres.
“Our Shreemandir is called Bada Deula, lord Jaganath is called Bada Thakur and the path on which the deities move in Raths called Bada Danda. The Iskcon’s attempt to construct another Jagannath temple in Puri is inauspicious and may have disastrous effect on our State,” Mahapatra told reporters here.
Stating that religious sentiment of all Odias is attached to the Shreemandir, he called upon all Odias to oppose the Iskcon proposal.
He too requested the Sankaracharya, Puri Gajapati, Mukti Mandap Pandit Sabha, all Sevayats, Daitapati Nijogs to fight united and prevent Iskcon from constructing its proposed temple. Further, he demanded that the law and Culture Departments and the PKDA clear their stands on the Iskcon project.