Puri: Puri’s titular king, Gajapati Maharaja Dibyasingha Deb, has accused the ISKCON of “attempting to mislead people” by issuing statements over “untimely” Rath Yatras abroad.
Deb was Sunday reacting to a press release of ISKCON, which reportedly claimed that Puri’s scholars were “defeated in a debate” with the organisation’s scholars over the issue of holding Lord Jagannath’s Rath Yatra.
The Jagannath temple authorities are insisting that the Rath Yatra be held only during the nine-day period from ‘Asadha Sukla Dwitiyatithi’ of the Hindu calendar. ISKCON says it wants to hold Rath Yatras throughout the year, and that the discussion with Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) over the matter has “ended once and for all”.
“The press release issued by ISKCON’s Juhu branch in Mumbai contains completely false and irrelevant information. A discussion and debate had taken place at Shri Nahar (palace) in Puri between scholars from Puri and ISKCON scholars. However, ISKCON is now spreading a completely fabricated story claiming that the Puri scholars lost the debate,” Deb said, adding that SJTA will issue a firm reply regarding the matter of “untimely” Rath Yatra.
Deb, who is also the chairman of the Shree Jagannath Temple Managing Committee (SJTMC), the apex decision-making body of the 12th-century shrine in Puri, said ISKCON’s highest body, the governing body commission (GBC), was “informed about the deviations being committed by it by holding untimely Rath Yatras”.
However, ISKCON continues to organise Snana Yatra and Rath Yatra at various places across the world, he said.
ISKCON’s Odisha unit regional secretary Banamali Das told reporters, “On behalf of Odisha ISKCON, we tender an apology from the core of our heart if Gajapati Maharaja was hurt. We have the highest regard for him… We, in Odisha, are conducting Rath Yatra as per the Puri tradition and never deviate from prescribed dates and ‘tithis’.”
He said Odisha ISKCON has no control over what is happening abroad.
“We conduct Snana Yatra and Rath Yatra on particular days across India. This time, Rath Yatra will be conducted in the UAE on July 16, the day it is observed in India,” he said.