Devotees and priests demand removal of “Jagannath Dham" label from Digha temple

Pressure mounts on WB CM Banerjee to withdraw label, tender apology

- PBD BUREAU/PTI

A section of devotees of Lord Jagannath and priests in Odisha has taken umbrage over the West Bengal government's portrayal of the newly inaugurated Digha temple as ‘Jagannath Dham’, contending that it is a “self-styled” title.

Ramakrushna Dasmohapatra, who was the chief priest during the inauguration of the Jagannath Temple at Digha on April 30, on Friday joined the voices demanding withdrawal of the ‘Jagannath Dham' phrase attached to the new temple in West Bengal.

“I, too, request West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to remove the word ‘Dham' from the Digha Jagannath Temple,” he told reporters here.

“I also urge the Odisha government and the Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) to initiate talks over the matter. As per my understanding, Puri is the only place referred to as ‘Jagannath Dham’,” Dasmohapatra said, adding he would write to Banerjee in this regard.

Deputy Chief Minister K V Singh Deo said Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi is aware of the development, but urged everyone to “not jump the gun”.

“I have limited knowledge and am not as wise as her (Banerjee). I know there are four ‘Dhams’ in India. Let her justify why she called the Digha temple a ‘Dham’. There can be several Jagannath temples in the country, but Puri is the only Jagannath ‘Dham',” he asserted.