Questioning last week’s decision of the Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) in depositing gold ornaments received by the temple as gifts in a bank locker, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has alleged that the SJTA’s decision was taken in violation of the Shree Jagannath Temple Rules of 1960.
About 18 kg of gold ornaments received as gifts during last 23 years was with the temple administration for all these years; and on Friday, the SJTA deposited 15 kg of these ornaments in a locker of the local SBI branch, said BJP spokesman Pitambar Acharya at a Press meet here on Monday.
Acharya, who is also a senior advocate of the Orissa High Court, said Section 7 of the SJT Rules clearly mentions that all jewelleries received as gifts or donations shall be kept separately inside the Ratna Bhandar (lords’ Treasury) under the supervision of the Temple Administrator.
“The decision to keep a part of the gifted ornaments in a bank locker and not in the Ratna Bhandar within hours of an interim order passed by the Supreme Court pointed finger towards the trustworthiness of the Temple Administrator and the State Government,” he alleged.
Quoting the Rules, Acharya further alleged that the temple administration on several other occasions has also completely violated the Rules of 1960 with regard to maintenance of a register of the gifts, attestation of the same by a designated servitor and periodical verification of the gifts.
Acharya expressed shock over the fact that the Ratna Bhandar, which protected and preserved the lords’ valuables for over 800 years from foreign invaders, is “unsafe” in the hands of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik as the keys of the treasury have now disappeared.
“It is also equally surprising that the Chief Minister has not yet uttered a single word in the public even as the temple administration was aware of the fact that the Ratna Bhandar keys are not traceable for over two months now,” Acharya said and also questioned the judicial inquiry ordered into the matter.
A judicial inquiry by a retired judge of the High Court to locate the lost keya within three months is nothing but “eyewash” to divert the public attention from a sensitive issue that affects the faith of all Jagannath worshippers, Acharya said, adding that reports of about 16 judicial probes ordered by the present dispensation in last 17 years are now gathering dust.