Bhubaneswar: The row over Puri Jagannath Temple video, featuring social media influencer and Curly Tales founder Kamiya Jani and bureaucrat-turned-BJD leader VK Pandian, continued to rage on Saturday with the Congress joining the BJP chorus.
Even as the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Biju Janata Dal (BJD) leaders engaged in a blame game over Jani’s visit to Jagannath Temple, Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee (OPCC) president Sarat Pattanayak and state party’s campaign committee chief Bijay Patnaik holding a press meet on the issue in Bhubaneswar.
The Congress leaders sought to know as to who asked Pandian to take Kamiya to the 12th century shrine. They further said that Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik should apologise to the people of Odisha if he had issued instructions in this regard.
Stating that the incident has hurt the sentiments of hundreds of devotees of Lord Jagannath, the PCC chief said that the Chief Minister must make it clear whether the visit was undertaken at his instruction.
Speaking in same vein, Bijay Patnaik said Pandian always claims that he is doing everything on the instructions of the Chief Minister. Now, people should know whether the CM had called the ‘controversial woman’ for the promotion of Mahaprasad and whether the need of such a blogger was required for this.
If it was done on CM’s instructions, it is condemnable, he said. However, if the CM says he did not give any such instruction, would he seek an explanation from Pandian and temple administration in public instead of any letter.
Seeking a public apology from the Chief Minister on the issue, he said Congress will resort to take extreme steps if the CM fails to do so.
It may be noted here that the BJP and Congress have turned the heat on the Odisha government and questioned how a ‘promoter of beef consumption’ was granted access to the Puri Jagannath temple where the entry of non-Hindus is prohibited.
Jani has defended her Jagannath Temple visit in an Instagram story. “As an Indian, my mission is to take Indian culture and heritage to the world. I have been visiting all the Jyotirlingas and char dhams of India and what a privilege it’s been. Woke up to this strange article in the newspaper questioning my visit to Jagannath temple. Not that anyone has reached out to me but just here to clarify that I don’t and have never eaten Beef. Jai Jagannath.”
