Union Minister Vijay Goel has triggered a row after posting photos of the sanctum sanctorum (Garbhagriha) of the lingaraj Temple here on Twitter.
Wishing the people of Odisha on the occasion of Utkal Divas on Sunday, Goel displayed three photos on Twitter mentioning that those were clicked during his trip to Bhubaneswar in 2017.
Two of the photos featured the Minister offering prayers to lord lingaraj at the Garbhagriha.
However, Goel on Monday withdrew the images Tweeting that he had by mistake posted the pictures without any intention to hurt anyone’s sentiments.
But Congress leader Suresh Routray demanded the Union Minister’s resignation terming the incidence as most unfortunate.
On the other hand, BJP State general secretary Prithviraj Harichandan blamed the temple administration and the servitors over the matter. “The concerned authorities should have apprised the Minister about the ban on photography in the temple as he was unaware about it,” Harichandan said.
It might be mentioned that an FIR had recently been lodged against Bollywood actress Raveena Tandon for shooting a video in the temple premises with a mobile phone.
Notably, there is a ban on photography in the temple complex. Only servitors are allowed to carry mobile phones inside the temple while it is prohibited for the others.