Bhubaneswar: Following public outrage on controversy erupted over establishment of a Jagannath temple at Digha in West Bengal, the State Government here ordered an internal probe by Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA).
Law Minister Prithiviraj Harichandan has written a letter to SJTA Chief Administrator Dr Arabinda Padhee in this regard today.
For the past few days, some conflicting information has been circulating in all media outlets regarding the Puri Jagannath temple and culture of Lord Jagannath.
The speculations over naming Sri Jagannath’s temple in Digha as Jagannath Dham, participation of some servitors of Puri temple in the Pratistha of the temple, and that the idol is made from sacred Daru collected for the Sri Mandir, etc. are completely unacceptable and such things are felt to have hurt the minds of the Jagannath devotee and the four and a half crore people of Odisha, he said.
“An internal investigation should be conducted by the administration of the temple on the entire incident to bring the truth before the public,” the Minister ordered.
If anyone is found guilty in this incident or is knowingly causing such an incident, then provisions can also be made to punish them with the approval of the State Government, he stated.
Earlier in the day, Ramakrushna Das Mahapatra, a senior Daitapati Servitor of the Puri Srimandir who performed the Pratishtha Puja of the Digha Jagannath Temple, said that he has provided wood for the idols constructed for the temple.
On 1 May, sand artist Sudarsan Pattnaik had written a letter to Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi seeking his intervention into the incident.