Post News Network
Bhubaneswar/Puri, June 30: Amid simmering resentment over the Brahma Paribartan fiasco, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Monday launched a statewide ‘Jagannath Sanskruti Suraksha Yatra’ demanding a judicial probe into the lapses in the ritual.
The week-long yatra was flagged off in the presence of the party’s state unit president KV Singh Deo, senior leader Bijay Mohapatra, Union tribal affairs minister Jual Oram, Giridhar Gamang and other party leaders. “The yatra is an attempt to protect and promote the centuries-old Jagannath culture and tradition,” said Singh Deo.
Holding the state government responsible for the “utter chaos and mismanagement” in the ritual, an important part of Lord Jagannath’s Nabakalebara festival, Singh Deo said the lapses have hurt the sentiments of lakhs of devotees across the globe.
He demanded a fair inquiry into the entire episode, indicating that a judicial probe is the only way to bring the fact to the fore.
Singh Deo said the yatra aims at making the people aware of the ‘mismanagement’ during the sacred rituals due to the inefficiency and inaction on the part of the state government.
Terming it as ‘gross mismanagement’, Mohapatra demanded judicial inquiry into the Brahma Paribartan row. Mohapatra also questioned the silence of the law minister and other concerned authorities over the matter.
Oram also sought a judicial commission inquiry into the fiasco.
The Yatra which commenced from the Grand Road in Puri will cover Khurda, Cuttack, Jajpur, Bhadrak, Balasore, Mayurbhanj and a few other districts and is scheduled to conclude July 6.
Meanwhile, Congress leader and former MP Pradeep Majhi, said the Congress had already demanded a judicial inquiry into the matter and observed a statewide bandh June 26 over it.
However, BJD leaders have refuted the allegations of BJP and Congress. “Instead of supporting the state government in successful conduct of the Rath Yatra, they (Opposition parties) are politicising the issue and playing with the sentiments of the people,” BJD spokesperson Sashibhusan Behera said.
Behera said the matter is being investigated by the temple administration and the government never interferes in temple affairs.