BJD Government Accused of Using Lord Jagannath for Political Gains | Bhubaneswar News – Times of India



BJD Government Accused of Using Lord Jagannath for Political Gains | Bhubaneswar News – Times of India

Bhubaneswar: The Congress and BJP rarely speak in similar tongue. But on Monday they were united, though separately, in their criticism of the BJD government, accusing it of exploiting Lord Jagannath for political gains. BJD hit back, saying history will remember the Shree Mandira Parikrama Prakalpa (heritage corridor) as one of the biggest interventions for the 12th century shrine’s upkeep.
Addressing a news conference, Congress campaign committee chairman Bijay Patnaik said the current dispensation doesn’t understand the essence of the Puri temple, and have been using it as just another tourist spot.
“First, they used an Youtuber, who in the past has promoted beef, to promote the Lord’s ‘Mahaprasad (food offered to deity)’. Now, idols of the Lord are being placed in trucks and moved from door to door to collect donations, lowering His dignity,” Bijay said.
The Congress leader said the much-hyped heritage corridor project is nothing but inauguration of a few toilets after clearing space around the temple.
State BJP president Manmohan Samal said Wednesday’s inauguration of the heritage corridor project has been turned into a purely BJD event. “The BJD leaders should understand that Lord Jagannath belongs to everyone. It is for people to decide whether to attend a party event,” Samal said.
Countering the opposition parties, senior BJD MLA Amar Prasad Satpathy said after a long time, such an intervention has been carried out to improve amenities around the Jagannath Temple. “Historians will find it among the biggest such interventions and future generations will remember this,” Satpathy said. A 75-metre corridor around the outer wall of the temple, a mega reception centre to accommodate 6,000 people, a cultural centre, library, Jagannath Ballav pilgrim centre and multi-level car parking are among the key features of the heritage corridor project.
We also published the following articles recently

Jagannath Heritage Corridor Project: 10 key points
Chief minister Naveen Patnaik will unveil the Jagannath Heritage Corridor Project on January 17, highlighting Odisha’s dedication to enriching cultural and infrastructural facets. The project includes a month-long awareness drive and spiritual activities, with an anticipated influx of 5 lakh people per day. The government has invited religious heads from 1,000 temples in India and Nepal for the inauguration.
Security tightened in Puri for heritage corridor project inauguration on Jan 17
Puri prepares for the inauguration of the temple heritage corridor project, with five-layer security arrangements akin to Rath Yatra. The Shree Mandira Parikrama Project (SMPP) will be inaugurated by the Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik. The Rs 800-crore project is part of a larger initiative worth over Rs 4,000 crore to transform Puri into a world heritage city.
Kanpur’s Jagannath temple that predicts rain
The Jagannath temple at Behta Bujurg in Uttar Pradesh is known for its mysterious architecture and rain prediction. The temple has a stone slab in its sanctum sanctorum that gets dampened a week before the monsoon and predicts the intensity of rainfall. The local farmers rely on this prediction to sow their kharif crop.





Source link

Leave a Reply

Discover more from DIGINEWZINDIA

Subscribe now to keep reading and get access to the full archive.

Continue reading