Bhubaneswar: A day after Odisha Law Minister said he is unaware if the key of Puri Jagannath Temple’s Ratna Bhandar is missing, political leaders lashed out at the state government and demanded immediate steps to open the treasury of the 12th century shrine.
Law Minister Jagannath Saraka had on Saturday told reporters that he did not know whether the Ratna Bhandar key is missing.
Coming down heavily on the state government, veteran politician and former Minister Bijoy Mohapatra sought to know as to how the Law Minister can say that he is unaware whether the Ratna Bhandar key is missing.
People of the state know it quite well that the government itself had stated about the Ratna Bhandar key having gone missing, he said, adding that later it was claimed that a duplicate key of the treasury of Jagannath Temple was found.
Even the state government had set up a Commission, he said, seeking to know as to how the Minister could make such a statement.
Emphasising that the Odisha government is only a custodian of the Ratna Bhandar, Mohapatra said it is not the owner. A devotee had donated gold ornaments worth Rs 3 crore in 2021 and people have the right to know about its utilisation.
People should know whether the Lord’s ornaments, precious jewellery and other valuables are safe and the Ratna Bhandar needs to be opened for this, said the veteran leader. “I cannot understand why the government is so reluctant in opening it. What is the problem in opening it? The government’s approach is only raising suspicion among people,” he sought to know.
Therefore, the government must initiate steps to open the Ratna Bhandar without any further delay. “Ratna Bhandar should be opened and inventory taken. The government should announce the date of opening of the Ratna Bhandar to dispel suspicion from people’s mind,” said Mohapatra.
Expressing similar views, senior Congress leader and MLA Tara Prasad Bahinipati said the Law Minister’s statement implies that the government is not serious over the issue which is really condemnable.
Seeking to know whether the Ratna Bhandar property is safe and intact, he said state government must take decision on opening of the treasury of the Lord at the earliest.
Terming the comment of the minister as unfortunate, the BJP said it clearly showed the government’s reluctance to open the Ratna Bhandar.
“The minister should know that they had gone to open the Ratna Bhandar on the High Court’s order earlier but returned without doing so. They should reveal its reason and open the deities’ treasury,” said former state BJP president Samir Mohanty.
It may be noted that Mohanty has filed a PIL at the Orissa High Court seeking its direction to the government to open the Ratna Bhandar to carry out necessary repair works and conducting a fresh inventory of the ornaments of the deities stored there since long.
Last month Puri Gajapati Dibyasingha Deb had told the media that the Ratna Bhandar was in bad shape as cracks had developed in its inner wall and rainwater was seeping through those.
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