The Odisha Congress on November 13 announced to conduct a ‘Tulasi Yatra ‘ (collection of holy basil) from December 1, stepping up pressure on the Naveen Patnaik government to open of doors of Ratna Bhandar of Shree Jagannath Temple, Puri, in which precious jewellery and stones donated to deities in different periods are stored.
The Biju Janata Dal (BJD) government is under huge pressure to open Ratna Bhandar. The last inventory of jewellery and costly stones was carried out in 1978. For obvious reasons, the State government had shown ‘reluctance’ to open the treasury of Shree Jagannath Temple.
“By the end of this month, holy basil will be collected from people from different walks of life. Under the supervision of the District Congress President, basil will be brought to the party’s State headquarters in Bhubaneswar. Subsequently, State Congress leaders and cadres will proceed to offer basils at the temple,” said Sarat Pattnayak, president of the Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee on November 13.
The State Congress had taken out a massive process in support of six major demands including the opening of four doors of Shree Jagannath Temple, an inspection of Ratna Bhandar and return of land acquired in Puri district for Vedanta University on October 16 and set a deadline of October 29 for fulfillment of demand.
“As the government did not take any action in this regard, another protest was held in from Shree Jagannath Temple on November 9. It has been decided that the agitation will continue until the demands are not met,” announced Mr. Pattnayak.
The Odisha Congress also raised questions over transparency maintained in Shree Mandir Parikrama Prakalpa (SMPP), which the State government is likely to inaugurate on January 17. The party demanded the publishing of a white paper on the volume of money spent on the projects and project executants before inauguration.
The Shree Jagannath Temple Management Committee, the apex governing body of the 12th century Jagannath Temple, Puri, had recently decided to recommend allowing the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) to inspect Ratna Bhandar (treasury) during the 2024 Rath Yatra. The issue of opening the Ratna Bhandar is adjudicated by the Orissa High Court.
