Following allegation that Puri MP Pinaki Misra has received Rs 25 lakh from five Nijogs (servitors’ bodies) of the Jagannath Temple to manage their case on temple’s reforms, the MP dismissed the charge as ‘too mischievous.’
In an affidavit filed with the Supreme Court (SC), a servitor named Somanath Khuntia (Bulu) of Marnikarnika Sahi, a member of Pratihari Nijog, brought the grievous charge against Misra. However, the top court dismissed the affidavit.
Misra refuted the allegation saying money received is an utter lie having no substance at all. He told this correspondent that he has received not a single pie from anybody. He said since the Supreme Court dismissed the affidavit, it is now worth nothing. Misra made it clear that many servitors have met him several times in the past and he has offered them legal services free of cost.
Khuntia charged that Misra had received Rs 5 lakh each from Pratihari, Khuntia, Bhitara-Sevayat, Supukar and Puspalak Nijogs to manage the case by his juniors in connection with SC’s 12-point reform initiatives in the Jagannath Temple. The MP had requested them not to make it public, he wrote.
The allegation against the MP has pushed the contentious reform issues into a hot debate in city with servitors, besides the locals, making it a key issue on Tuesday. Reacting over it, Puspalak Nijog secretary Harekrusna Singhari rejected the charge saying, “Our Nijog hasn’t yet offered money to the MP and I have no idea of other Nijogs whether or not they have paid,”
Singhari further told that they are thinking of legal actions against the person who levelled the false charge.
However, members of other Nijogs have maintained silence when asked. But they agreed that they have met Misra many times for legal advice as he is a prominent lawyer of the Supreme Court. Notably, Khuntia, who brought the charge, is an absconder following violence during the October 3 Puri bandh.