Why BJP says Mamata's Digha temple an affront to Jagannath Puri

India Today

13-05-2025

The BJP has seized the controversy surrounding the newly constructed Digha Jagannath Dham to sharpen its attack on West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee, accusing her of desecrating sacred traditions and encroaching upon Odisha's religious heritage.The suspension of senior servitor Ramakrushna Das Mahapatra by the Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA), Puri, has been used by the party to launch a larger narrative of cultural appropriation and spiritual misconduct by the Mamata government.advertisementOn May 11, SJTA chief administrator Arabinda Padhee announced that Daitapati Sevak Ramakrushna Das Mahapatra had been suspended for 309 days and barred from entering the 12th century Jagannath Temple in Puri. This followed accusations that he had played a central role in the consecration of the new Jagannath Temple in Digha on April 29-30 and provided surplus Nabakalebar wood—used for making the sacred idols for the Puri shrine—for the construction of the deities for Digha.Despite being served two show-cause notices on May 4 and May 9, Mahapatra was found to have acted against established temple norms and traditions.Padhee made it clear that the action was intended to enforce discipline and preserve the dignity of Mahaprabhu Shree Jagannath's shrine. 'Pride and arrogance must not tarnish our service to the Lord. Our devotion must be reflected in our respect for the sanctity of the temple's customs,' he remarked.advertisement
The BJP, quick to capitalise on the development, turned its criticism directly towards Mamata. Suvendu Adhikari, leader of the Opposition in the Bengal legislative assembly, described the servitor's suspension as a 'necessary and welcome action' that reaffirmed the supremacy of the Puri temple's traditions. Adhikari accused Mamata of orchestrating a 'misleading and unauthorised' replication of Puri's sacred rituals at the Digha temple, using state patronage to project the site as a rival pilgrimage destination.'This was not just symbolic imitation—it was an audacious cultural transgression. The local administration, under Mamata's direction, tried to portray Digha as the new Jagannath Dham. This affront has wounded the sentiments of crores of Sanatani devotees,' Adhikari said, insisting that the servitor's collusion in the project demonstrated how religious institutions were being misused for political gain.Amit Malviya, national head of the BJP's IT Cell, echoed the sentiment, alleging that Mamata had offended Hindu religious sensibilities by politicising a deeply revered tradition. 'Devotees of Prabhu Jagannath are dismayed. This is a calculated affront designed to confuse and divide devotees while undermining Odisha's spiritual heritage,' he wrote on social media.Amid the mounting political pressure, the Shankaracharya of Puri, Swami Nishchalananda Saraswati, made a subtle but significant intervention. He reiterated that only the temple in Puri holds the rightful recognition as 'Jagannath Dham'. While he did not name any individual or refer explicitly to Digha, the context of his remarks left little ambiguity as to whom these were aimed at.advertisementHowever, Mamata has come out forcefully in defence of her government's actions and the Digha temple initiative. Speaking at a recent public event in Murshidabad, she dismissed the BJP's accusations as slanderous and politically motivated. 'They said I have stolen wood from Jagannath Temple. Why should I? We have plenty of neem trees in Bengal. Even at my residence, there are four neem trees. At Digha's Jagannath temple, 500 trees have been planted, and another 100 will be planted. We do not want anyone's alms,' Mamata asserted.Visibly indignant, the chief minister continued: 'We are not beggars, not pickpockets. We are the custodians and not thieves. I constructed such a beautiful temple, which is one of the wonders in the world, and they are alleging that I have stolen neem wood? Prove it—or else the people will give a befitting reply in the coming days.'Despite the uproar, it is undeniable that the inauguration of the Jagannath Temple in Digha was received with significant enthusiasm in Bengal. The complex, designed with architectural grandeur and spiritual symbolism, drew thousands of devotees and was hailed by many as a remarkable addition to the state's cultural and religious landscape. For a considerable segment of the population, particularly those in coastal and southern Bengal, the temple has become a source of pride and a spiritual destination in its own right.advertisementYet, this very success is now being wielded by the BJP as proof of Mamata's alleged attempt to create a parallel pilgrimage centre. The party is framing the Digha temple project as an act of religious overreach seeking to appropriate the identity of Puri's sacred dham for political optics in West Bengal.In Odisha, too, the move has struck a nerve. There is widespread sentiment that the sanctity and exclusivity of Puri's Jagannath tradition must be preserved, and any attempt to replicate or reinterpret it outside established bounds is seen as sacrilegious. The BJP's response, in this context, reflects both a defence of regional spiritual heritage and an opportunity to assert ideological dominance over religious symbolism.As the controversy unfolds, it has become clear that what began as a temple inauguration has now escalated into a political-cultural fault line, pitting Bengal's assertion of religious autonomy against Odisha's spiritual guardianship, with the BJP at the centre of the confrontation, attempting to nationalise what was once a regional religious issue.advertisementSubscribe to India Today Magazine