Bhubaneswar: Soon after receiving the letter from former CM and Leader of Opposition Naveen Patnaik on the incident during ‘Pahandi Bije’ of Lord Balabhadra, Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi promptly replied to Patnaik in a noble gesture and said he will accept all of his suggestions in future.
In his reply letter to Shri Patnaik, the Chief Minister said Lord Jagannath is not only the symbol of Odia Asmita, but also he is the Lord of the entire universe. The rituals of Lord Jagannath, Lord Balabhadra and Devi Subhadtra are very rare in the entire globe, he said.
The incident that happened during the ‘Pahandi Bije’ of Bada Thakura during this year’s Rath Jatra has saddened the entire globe. “It is natural that you were hurt and I am also deeply hurt,” Shri Majhi said.
Soon after receiving information about the misshapen, the Chief Minister said he has instructed Deputy Chief Minister Pravati Parida and Law Minister Prithiviraj Harichandan to immediately visit Puri, He also advised all stakeholders to remain careful so that such incident would not reoccur in future.
The Chief Minister further said that he has thoroughly gone through the letter of the LoP and he will always consider his suggestion with all due respect. “We all together will complete the remaining rituals of the Chaturdhamurty and Srigundicha Jatra smoothly,” he added.
In his letter, Shri Patnaik today urged the Chief Minister to take the necessary steps to ensure that such incidents do not occur in the future.
Shri Patnaik, a five-time Chief Minister of Odisha, said such an unfortunate incident had hurt the sentiments of the devotees of Lord Jagannath all over the world.
Describing Lord Jagannath as the symbol of Odia ‘Asmita’ (pride), the former CM said the incident was unprecedented and had never happened in the history of Rath Jatra and added that he could not believe his eyes that such a mishap could happen.