Communal Discord Deadlier Than Coronavirus: Subroto Bagchi

Bhubaneswar: With hate messages flooding the social media following the Tablighi Jamaat congregation in Delhi’s Nizamuddin, the Odisha government on Monday said communal disharmony has no place in the state.

“Since ages, Odisha is known all over the country for communal harmony, a state where people of all religions are respected,” Chief Spokesperson on COVID-19, Subroto Bagchi told the media here.

Maintaining that communal disharmony is deadlier than coronavirus, he said that during the Rath Yatra in Puri, Salabega, a Muslim and an ardent devotee of Lord Jagannath, was on a pilgrimage to Vrindaban. Apprehending that he will not able to see his Lord atop the chariot, he prayed to the Lord to wait. Listening to the prayer of his devotee, Lord Jagannath stopped at the Bada Danda (Grand Road) till his return. Since then, the chariot of Lord Jagannath halts for some time near the Samadhi of Salabega at Balagandi. Apart from Salabega, saints like Sikh Guru Nanak and founder of Gaudiya Vaishnavism Shri Chaitanya have also visited Odisha for the darshan of Lord Jagannath.

“All this bears ample testimony to communal harmony in Odisha,” Bagchi said and cautioned the people to refrain from indulging in a hate campaign.