Puri (Odisha) [India], May 4 (ANI): Renowned sand artist and Padma Shri awardee Sudarshan Pattnaik on Sunday objected to West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s announcement declaring newly constructed Jagannath temple in Digha as “Jagannath Dham,” saying the move is misleading and hurts the sentiments of millions of devotees of Lord Jagannath.
Speaking to ANI, Pattnaik welcomed the construction of a Jagannath temple in Digha but opposed branding the coastal town as a Dham equivalent to Puri, which is revered as one of the four Char Dhams.
“It is a very good thing that a temple of Lord Jagannath is built in Digha. But WB CM Mamata Banerjee announced that Digha is a Jagannath Dham, which is absolutely wrong. This hurts the sentiments of Hindus. There are 4 Dhams in the country and Puri Jagannath Dham is one of them.” Pattnaik stated.
Appealing to the West Bengal government, Pattnaik questioned, “How is it possible that Jagannath Dham can be built in Digha?… I appeal to the WB Govt to please withdraw this decision. It is not right to mislead and confuse the devotees of Lord Jagannath all over the world…”
Earlier, Pattnaik had requested West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to immediately issue an order not to call the newly inaugurated Jagannath Temple at Digha in the state’s Purba Medinipur district a “Dham”.Pattnaik pointed out that it creates confusion among the devotees of Lord Jagannath.
“The Jagannath Temple inaugurated in Digha is not a Dham…I request CM Mamata Banerjee to immediately order not to call it a Dham as it hurts the sentiments of the devotees of Lord Jagannath and also creates confusion,” Pattnaik told ANI.
On Saturday, Sambit Patra, BJP MP from Puri, also objected to the West Bengal government’s decision.
He argued that it is impossible to call any other place Jagannath Dham because there is only one in the world, located in Puri, Odisha. In a press address, MP Patra said, “I strongly object to one thing. There is only one Jagannath Dham in the world, and it is not possible to call any other place Jagannath Dham because there is no other place. There are four Dhams in India, and among them, one is a very important Dham- Jagannath Dham, Puri, and there should be no doubt that no other place can be called Jagannath Dham.”
“I think that as an MP from Puri and also as a politician from Odisha, I should wait to see what investigation the temple administration does and what is the report of that investigation,” he further stated.
Notably, the Rs 250-crore temple in Digha, which spans over 20 acres, was inaugurated by CM Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday. The 12th-century Shree Jagannath Temple architecturally inspires the temple in Puri and enshrines the same deities. (ANI)
Disclaimer: This story is auto-generated from a syndicated feed of ANI; only the image & headline may have been reworked by News Services Division of World News Network Inc Ltd and Palghar News and Pune News and World News
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