Cong To Hold ‘Sankirtan Satyagrah’ For Opening All Gates Of Puri Jagannath Temple

Bhubaneswar: The Congress party will hold “Sankirtan Satyagrah” in front of Jagannath temples across Odisha on November 9 to press its demand for opening all four gates of Jagannath temple in Puri.

This was announced by Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee (OPCC) president Sarat Patnaik at a presser in Bhubaneswar on Sunday.

Patnaik deplored the state government’s indifference towards the problems faced by the devotees for entering the temple through only one door. “Lakhs of devotees are coming to the Pilgrim Town in the holy month of Kartik to have darshan of Lord Jagannath, Lord Balabhadra and Devi Subhadra. The women, particularly old, widows and Habishyalis, observe fast during the month and offer puja to the deities,” he said.

But they have to endure hardship and suffer difficulties just to have darshan of Lords inside the temple as they are made to stand in queue for hours together in front of Singhadwar (Lions Gate) of the temple, he added.

Patnaik said considering the problems faced by the devotees, the Congress had taken out a rally in Puri town on October 16 to press the government to open all four gates of Jagannath temple. The party leaders had also submitted a memorandum in this regard to the chief administrator of Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA).

“The Congress had asked the government to take steps to open all gates of the temple by October 28. As the government has failed to meet our demand, the party has decided to intensify its agitation by holding Sankirtan Satyagrah in the state,” he said.

As per the programme, the Congress workers will light ‘diyas’ (lamps) and hold Sankirtan in front of Jagannath temples in all blocks, sub-divisions and NACs across the state from 9 am to 12 noon on November 9, the OPCC president said.