Bhubaneswar, March 21: The Puri temple administration today announced 62-year-old Haladhar Das Mohapatra as the leader of the 100-member team, which will embark on a journey from March 29 in search of the sacred wood for making the idols of Lord Jagannath and His siblings.
Elated over the announcement, Das Mohapatra said: "I am happy that everyone has reposed their faith in me. On the blessings of Lord Jagannath, we will certainly find the required wood."
According to the programme, the team will begin their journey on March 29 from Puri and reach Kakatpur covering a distance of 70km. There the team will perform the required rituals at Maa Mangala Temple before venturing into various areas to find the wood.
However, at a time, when the administration is gearing up to make the Nabakalebar a grand success, the BJP has given the naba jauban darshan issue a political turn.
The BJP members today voiced their protest in the Assembly against the temple administration's decision to debar devotees from naba jauban darshan (witnessing the deities after the change of idols) during Nabakalebar. They demanded a ruling from the Speaker directing the state government to revoke the decision.
But, Speaker Niranjan Pujari did not give any direction to the state government in this regard. "I have heard your views and so has the government," he said.
The naba jauban darshan will be held on July 17, a day before rath yatra (car festival). Every year, the devotees are allowed to have a glimpse of Lord Jagannath and His siblings following recovery from their "sickness" after the grand bath. But this year, the temple management committee has decided not to allow the devotees to have this special darshan of the deities, citing security reasons. This year, around 50 lakh devotes are expected to visit Puri on the occasion of Nabakalebar, which is being held after 1996.
Raising the issue in the Assembly during Zero Hour today, BJP's Bibhuti Bhusan Harichandan said the decision to deprive the devotees from the naba jauban darshanwas against the custom and tradition of the 12th century temple. Arguing that such a move would hurt the religious sentiments of the lakhs of devotees across the globe, he demanded rollback of the decision.
Supporting him, his party colleague, Rabi Narayan Naik, said it was ridiculous on part of the state government to plead inability to provide security to the devotees. He urged the Speaker to direct the government to ensure that the devotees were allowed to have the special darshan.
Pradip Purohit, also of the BJP, said the state government had no right to interfere in the rituals pertaining to the Jagannath cult. "If the government does interfere, it will invite its own downfall," said an agitated Purohit.
However, BJD spokesperson Amar Prasad Satpathy said the decision was not taken by the state government but by the temple managing committee headed by the king of Puri, Gajapati Dibyasingha Deb, who is believed to the first servitor of the Lord and His siblings.
"The question of reconsideration of the decision depends upon the temple administration. The state government should not be unnecessarily drawn into any controversy," he said.
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