Odisha’s Majhi writes to Mamata, says don’t call new temple ‘Jagannath Dham’
Majhi asked Bengal to avoid using ‘Jagannath Dham’ in official documents, communications, or promotional materials for the Digha temple.
BHUBANESWAR: Odisha chief minister Mohan Charan Majhi on Tuesday asked the West Bengal government to call the newly built Jagannath temple in East Midnapore Digha’s town by a different name, insisting that calling the new temple ‘Jagannath Dham’ was wrong and hurt the sentiments of devotees.
In a letter to Mamata Banerjee, Majhi asked Bengal to avoid using ‘Jagannath Dham’ in official documents, communications, or promotional materials for the Digha temple.
Majhi said the Shree Jagannath Dham in Puri held a special importance for Hindus and holds profound religious, spiritual, and cultural importance — not only for the people of Odisha, but also for millions of devotees across the nation and beyond.
“The name ‘Jagannath Dham’ is uniquely and sacredly associated with Puri,” Majhi said in his letter.
“Using it in reference to any other temple or location hurts the sentiments of millions of pilgrims and devotees, while also diluting the distinct heritage and identity of Shree Jagannath Dham, Puri,” he said, stressing that it could also create confusion among devotees and erode Puri’s historical and spiritual identity as the original abode of Lord Jagannath.
Such a move also hurts the religious sentiments of the people of Odisha.
Jyotirmath Shankaracharya Avimukteshwaranand Saraswati has also said the term ‘Jagannath Dham’ was exclusively associated with the Puri temple. “God is omniscient and Lord Jagannath can be worshipped at any place. The Lord’s idols can be installed and worshipped in Bengal but it is inappropriate to call it ‘Dham’ and should therefore be removed from it,” he said.
Mamata has framed the controversy as an overreaction, questioning the outrage over building a Jagannath temple in West Bengal.
“Why are they so angry just because we have built a Jagannath temple in Digha? Is it a crime to worship Lord Jagannath in West Bengal?” she said, responding to howls of protests from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Bengal and Odisha over the new temple in Digha.
