Bhubaneswar (Odisha) [India], May 4 : The Chief Servitor of the Puri Jagannath Temple has strongly criticised the West Bengal government's decision to declare the newly built Jagannath temple in Digha as "Jagannath Dham", calling it a "political stunt."
Speaking to ANI, Chief Servitor Daitapati Bhabani Das Mohapatra said that, according to sacred texts, there are only four recognised dhams (pilgrimage sites) -- and no other place can be called a 'dham.'
Mohapatra accused the Mamata Banerjee-led West Bengal government of acting out of "arrogance" and said the move was politically motivated. He urged the government to withdraw the use of the term 'dham'.
"We all Daitapatis and our community are hurt since this controversy has erupted. Since the time we have started our worship and whatever we have heard from our ancestors or whatever written in our puranas and skands (holy books), there are only 4 dhaams, that is Raameshwaram, Badrinath, Dwarka and Jagannath Dham, out of which Jagannath Dham is superior in all... this is matter of crime. They cannot name like this. Dham is only Jagannath Dham. Any place apart from our chaardham, cannot be named as dham. This is crime of Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee. We will request them to take back the name of "dham" .... You called it dham, put murtis in it, didn't ask anyone... I will say they did it out of arrogance. This is a political stunt. They know they will not win in Bengal this time..." he said.
Earlier today, Padma Shri awardee and renowned sand artist Sudarshan Pattnaik also opposed the Bengal government's announcement, saying it misleads devotees and hurts religious sentiments.
"It is a very good thing that a temple of Lord Jagannath is built in Digha. But WB CM Mamata Banerjee announced that Digha is a Jagannath Dham, which is absolutely wrong. This hurts the sentiments of Hindus. There are 4 Dhams in the country and Puri Jagannath Dham is one of them," Pattnaik told ANI.
Appealing to the West Bengal government, he asked, "How is it possible that Jagannath Dham can be built in Digha?... I appeal to the WB Govt to please withdraw this decision. It is not right to mislead and confuse the devotees of Lord Jagannath all over the world..."
BJP MP from Puri, Sambit Patra, also objected to the decision, saying there is only one Jagannath Dham in the world, and that is in Puri.
"There is only one Jagannath Dham in the world, and it is not possible to call any other place Jagannath Dham because there is no other place. There are four Dhams in India, and among them, one is a very important Dham--Jagannath Dham, Puri, and there should be no doubt that no other place can be called Jagannath Dham," he said in a press address.
"I think that as an MP from Puri and also as a politician from Odisha, I should wait to see what investigation the temple administration does and what is the report of that investigation," he added.
The Rs 250-crore temple in Digha, built over 20 acres, was inaugurated by West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday. The temple is inspired by the 12th-century Shree Jagannath Temple in Puri and houses the same deities.