Bhubaneshwar (Odisha) [India], May 4 (ANI): Biju Janata Dal (BJD) Vice President Prasanna Acharya on Sunday objected to the West Bengal government calling the newly inaugurated Jagannath temple in Digha a ‘dham’ and said that they are “unnecessarily” creating a controversy.
Prasanna Acharya questioned the Mamata Banerjee-led West Bengal government about how there can be a fifth Dham while Adi Shankaracharya established only four and urged them not to engage in politics.
Speaking with ANI, Acharya said, “No politics should be done on this issue, it is a religious issue, regarding the sentiments of crores of devotees of Lord Jagannath… How can the fifth Dham be established while Adi Shankaracharya established only four Dham… This is next to impossible… It is an unnecessary controversy being created by the West Bengal government.”
The controversy erupted after West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee inaugurated the Rs 250-crore temple on April 30, with critics in Odisha, including BJP leaders, objecting to its ‘Jagannath Dham’ label.
Earlier on Saturday, Odisha Minister Prithviraj Harichandan wrote a letter to the Chief Administrator of Shree Jagannath Temple, Arabinda Kumar Padhee, to conduct an internal inquiry into the naming of Digha Temple as ‘Jagannath Dham’, the participation of Puri Temple sevayats in the consecration ceremony, and the use of “Daru Katha” for idol construction.
The minister believes these actions have offended the sentiments of Lord Jagannath’s devotees and the people of Odisha.
Meanwhile, Union Minister and West Bengal Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) President Sukanta Majumdar asserted that Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee was trying to win the upcoming state Assembly elections by “climbing on the shoulders” of Lord Jagannath.
Renowned Indian sand artist Sudarsan Pattnaik also requested the West Bengal Chief Minister to immediately issue an order not to call the newly inaugurated Jagannath Temple a “Dham”. Pattnaik pointed out that this creates confusion among the devotees of Lord Jagannath.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee inaugurated the Rs 250-crore temple in Digha, which spans over 20 acres, on Wednesday. The 12th-century Shree Jagannath Temple in Puri architecturally inspires the temple and enshrines the same deities. (ANI)
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