Jagannath temple takes centre stage in Odisha poll discourse as voting crosses halfway mark

With the election crossing the halfway mark in Odisha, the mystery surrounding the treasury of the Jagannath temple in Puri has taken centre stage in the poll discourse in the State.

With the election crossing the halfway mark in Odisha, the mystery surrounding the treasury of the Jagannath temple in Puri has taken centre stage in the poll discourse in the State pushing aside issues of road, water, jobs, and electricity.

In their four back-to-back public meetings since Monday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah have raked up the issue of the “missing” keys of the Ratna Bhandar, the inner treasury of the Jagannath Temple, and blamed the Naveen Patnaik government for its failure to come clean on inventorying the jewellery and precious stones stored in it.

Launching a scathing attack on V.K. Pandian, a Tamil Nadu-born former IAS officer who is a close aide of Mr. Patnaik, the Prime Minister on Monday alleged that the keys of the Ratna Bhandar had been missing for six years and an inquiry report on the matter was yet to be made public. He said the “keys have gone to Tamil Nadu”.

Mr. Modi assured that the report of the Commission of Inquiry would be made public if the BJP comes to power in the State.

“The tradition of Jagannath Dham has been lowered in the name of promoting Puri as tourist hub. The Shreekshetra (Puri) has been transformed into a commercial centre. The mutts have been demolished and the four entry doors of Jagannath Temple remain closed. There was conspiracy to stop Rath Yatra of Lord Jagannath,” Mr. Shah said at Sambalpur on Tuesday.

As per an affidavit submitted by the State government in the Orissa High Court, the Ratna Bhandar, which is under double lock and can be opened only after a special approval from the government, is safe. The last inventory of the items in the treasury was carried out 45 years ago when gold and silver ornaments wrapped in red clothes were kept in wooden boxes. The Ratna Bhandar had more than 1.2 quintals of gold and 2.2 quintals of silver when it was last opened in 1978. In addition to this, there was a sizeable amount of gold ornaments which are in regular use in the temple.

Mr. Pandian termed Mr. Modi’s remarks a political statement. Talking to a news agency, he said the Prime Minister should find out where the keys of the Ratna Bhandar had gone, if he had so much knowledge.