Odisha Govt Custodian Of Ratna Bhandar Keys: Puri Gajapati King

Bhubaneswar: Expressing surprise over the manner he is being implicated in the missing Ratna Bhandar keys, Gajapati Maharaj Dibyasingh Deb said the Odisha government became the supreme authority for ensuring the safety of Ratna Bhandar and safe custody of its keys with the implementation of the Shree Jagannath Temple Act, 1960.

Giving a clarification to this effect in a local news channel on Thursday, he refuted the statements of some political leaders and a senior servitor of the Jagannath temple about his role on the issue.

“The keys of the Ratna Bhandar are not kept under the custody of the Gajapati Maharaj. The keys are kept in the custody of the chief administrator of Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) and the Puri district collector,” he pointed out.

He further said before 1960, the Puri Gajapati was the superintendent of the Jagannath temple. During the period, the Ratna Bhandar keys used to remain with the Maharaj. But after the Shree Jagannath Temple Act, 1960, the Gajapati is entitled to keep one of the three Bahara (outer) Ratna Bhandar keys. The representative of the Gajapati remains present during the opening of the Ratna Bhandar.

Referring to the temple managing committee, he said though the Gajapati Maharaj presides over the meeting, his role is like the other members of the committee.

Stating that he was taken aback after coming to know about the missing keys during the temple managing committee meeting on April 4, the Maharaja said he had asked the concerned officials to make another attempt to trace out the missing keys.

Earlier in the day, senior BJP leader Dharmendra Pradhan had criticized the chief minister for remaining silent on this issue since last two months.

He said the state government, instead of trying to hoodwink the people by instituting a judicial commission of inquiry to cover up its loopholes, should be more sensitive on the issue.