Puri temple priests suspended for favouring BJP MLA

The Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) in Puri has placed two servitors of the important shrine under suspension for extending a favour to the local BJP MLA during Snana Purnima, the day of bathing ceremony of the three temple deities, violating the provisions in the SJTA Act.

Apart from the two suspended priests, Jayanta Kumar Sarangi, a first time MLA from Puri, has also been served notice by the temple administration.

The two servitors had allegedly escorted the Sarangi to Snana Mandap during Maha Snana of the three deities, Jagannath, Balabhadra and Subhadra, a major pre-Rath Yatra ritual held a few days back.

This is against the rules of the temple administration. Sources in the temple office said that action was initiated against the two priests after verification of the CCTV footage of the important religious event.

After the matter came to light, the BJP MLA has extended a public apology. He, however, has questioned why the security personnel present on the spot did not stop him when he stepped into the Snana Mandap, the platform where the three deities were being bathed. He vehemently denied the allegation that he had touched the three deities.

Sarangi was one of the giant killers during the last Lok Sabha and Assembly elections in the state, as he had managed to defeat a ruling BJD stalwart, former state minister and a former speaker of the Assembly, Maheswar Mohanty, who had been continuously winning the Puri assembly seat since 1995.

The actions of a section of servitors have become a major headache for the state government-run Puri temple administration. A few days back, another priest of the temple was placed under suspension for circulating a selfie taken inside the premises of the temple in social media, violating the shrine rules.