Putting an end to the uproar over reports regarding alleged misconduct with President Ram Nath Kovind and his wife Savita Kovind during their visit to the Jagannath Temple in Puri, the President’s Press Secretary Ashok Malik has rebutted such reports.
He also rubbished the claims of a letter being sent by the Rashtrapati Bhavan to the temple administration expressing displeasure over the behaviour of some servitors. Speaking to a team of reporters, he said no such letter has ever been sent.
However, Malik said some servitors had tried to breach security protocols in order to come closer to the President but were stopped.
Notably, some media reports surfaced recently citing a minute of the temple managing committee meeting in which it was mentioned that during the visit of the Presidentt and his wife to the temple on March 18, some servitors allegedly shoved the two by breaching the security protocol while both were having darshan of the deities.
Temple Suar Mahasuar Nijog president Damodar Mahasuar has lodged a complaint at the Singhadwar police station against Puri Collector Arvind Agarwal and former SJTA chief Pradeep Jena accusing them of trying to defame servitors of the temple.