Show cause for ‘indiscipline’ during ritual: Puri temple admn to MLA

BHUBANESWAR: The Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) on Monday said they had served a show-cause notice to Jayant Kumar Sarangi, the BJP MLA from Puri, on Saturday for alleged indiscipline during the Debasnana Purnima (bathing ritual of deities) at the temple on June 17.
Somanath Khuntia, a servitor, was also suspended for allegedly escorting the legislator to the bathing mandap.
The SJTA said the duo violated an order issued by the shrine body for the smooth conduct of the Debasnana Purnima. The order said nobody except on-duty servitors would remain present on the bathing mandap during the ritual. There was also a blanket ban on touching of the deities. However, a number of people, including Sarangi and Khuntia, allegedly breached the restriction and climbed the mandap for a darshan of the deities. Their photos on the bathing mandap later went viral on the social media.
“We verified the temple’s CCTV cameras and found Sarangi and Khuntia in the bathing mandap, in violation of our directive. We suspended Khuntia till further orders. Sarangi was on Saturday asked to explain within seven days as to why he had flouted the temple directive,” a senior temple officer told TOI, requesting anonymity.
The officer said if Sarangi failed to give a satisfactory reply or did not respond to the notice within seven days, the temple administration might initiate legal action against him and lodge a complaint with police for allegedly disobeying a public order.
While Khuntia was unavailable for comment, Sarangi said he was unaware of any such restriction. “I am a disciplined devotee. On Debasnana Purnima, I climbed the bathing mandap for a darshan. I did not touch the idols. I did not know that there was a restriction on the presence of devotees in the mandap,” Sarangi told TOI. Sarangi said neither the temple functionaries nor police stopped him when he headed towards the mandap. “I did not commit any sin. Lord Jagannath will do justice to me. I will respond to the notice within the deadline,” Sarangi said.