New Delhi: The inauguration of a newly built Jagannath temple in West Bengal’s Digha has stirred the pot in neighbouring Odisha, where influential groups of servitors from Puri’s 12th-century Jagannath Temple are trading barbs over their involvement in the new shrine.
A consecration ceremony was held last Wednesday at the Digha temple in the presence of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and senior leaders of the ruling Trinamool Congress, in a major publicity push ahead of next year’s assembly elections.
While Mamata, often criticised as a “pro-Muslim leader” by her political rivals, appears to be making a calculated political move through the state-sponsored project, the new temple has ignited a tussle between the TMC and the BJP which govern West Bengal and Odisha, respectively.
Beneath what seems to be a political slugfest lies a power tussle among the servitors of the Puri temple, who are competing for positions in the new management committee of the Digha shrine, a popular tourist destination and pilgrimage. This marks the first time since the BJP came to power in Odisha that the management committee is being restructured by the government.
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Fight over the name
The BJP government in Odisha has criticised West Bengal’s decision to name the new shrine “Jagannath Dham”. The Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) in Puri also questioned a senior servitor who participated in the Digha temple’s consecration.
On Monday, Mamata pushed back, calling the critics of the Digha temple “envious”.
“When Mamata Banerjee builds the Kalighat Skywalk and Dakshineswar Skywalk, then there is no question. When she does Kali Puja or Durga Puja, then there is no question. But now Jagannath Dham has hurt them (BJP)? They are saying I stole neem wood. My house has four neem trees, for their information. Ask them how many they need. I do not need to steal. The mother of thieves screams the loudest,” she told reporters in Murshidabad.
She denied allegations that surplus neem wood from the Puri temple was used to craft the idols at Digha. Odisha Law Minister Prithviraj Harichandan also clarified Monday that, following an inquiry by the SJTA, it was confirmed that no wood from Puri was used in the Digha temple.
Under the Shri Jagannath Temple Act, 1955, out of 18 members of the management committee, seven are nominated by the state government for three-year terms. The seven nominated members include five from among the sevaks or servitors of the temple, one person attached with muktimandap (body of religious scholars) and another working with any Hindu religious or spiritual organisation.
“The process to constitute the new committee (at the Puri temple) is underway. The members of the various influential groups of sevaks are vying for the posts. Without the committee in place, even the annual budget of the temple cannot be sent for the government’s approval. That explains the eruption of the controversy over the Digha temple.
“There is a competition among the sevaks to show loyalty to the government. On the other hand, those who participated at the Digha temple consecration ceremony were close to the previous government led by the BJD,” according to a senior member of a ‘nijog’, which is an association of sevaks.
There are several such associations in Puri based on the services provided by their members including Daitapati Nijog (considered bodyguards of the deity), Suar Mahasuar Nijog (involved in preparing the mahaprasad), Pushpalak Nijog (decoration), Pratihari Nijog (guarding the deities).
Batto Krishna, A panda at the Puri temple, told ThePrint that internal politics among the sevaks in many ways shaped the ongoing tussle between the two state governments.
“Sabka apna apna rajneeti hai (Everybody is serving their own political interest). The West Bengal administration had sent invites to many of us. Some like the secretary of the Daitapati Nijog Ramakrushna Dasmohapatra accepted and went to Digha. Some nijogs issued diktats that their members were not allowed to participate. It’s an open secret that those who went had BJD leanings while those who didn’t were trying to be in the BJP’s good books,” said Batto Krishna, who is the secretary of the Pradhani Nijog.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, a member of the Suar Mahausar Nijog claimed that Mohapatra, who was questioned by the SJTA Monday, was close to the BJD under the Naveen Patnaik-led previous administration.
“The reverence for Jagannath Mahaprabhu is very high in Odisha. The ongoing process to form the next management committee has triggered a race among the members of the sevak associations to prove their loyalty to the new administration. That explains the ongoing political tussle to a large extent,” the member said.
Meanwhile, Puri’s titular king Gajapati Divyasingha Deb, also waded into the row Monday. Deb, who is the chairperson of the SJTA, claimed that the temple in West Bengal’s Digha cannot be called “Jagannath Dham”. He went on to cite scriptures to assert that only the Puri shrine qualifies to be a Dham.
“I wish to add here that the glory of Shree Jagannatha Mahaprabhu is most authentically and comprehensively expounded by Maharshi Veda Vyasa in ‘Shree Purushottama-kshetra Mahatmyam’ contained in the ‘Vaishnava Khanda’ of Skanda Purana. A plain reading of this scripture will leave no doubt that it is only Puri which can be called ‘Shree Jagannatha Dham’ and not any other place or temple because it is Puri which is the eternal holy abode of the Supreme Lord — Shree Purushottama-Jagannath,” he told reporters.
(Edited by Ajeet Tiwari)
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