The opposition BJP and the Congress on Thursday urged the Odisha government to make public the report of Justice Raghubir Das’s Commission of Inquiry into the missing Ratna Bhandar keys of Puri’s Jagannath temple.
Addressing the media here, senior BJP leader Pitambar Acharya said the issue of the missing Ratna Bhandar keys came to the fore in 2018 when, on the order of the High Court, a large team comprising of senior officials and architects entered the temple to inspect the inner chamber of the Ratna Bhandar.
He said: “The then Puri collector Arvind Agarwal informed that the key to the treasure trove was missing. Later, the collector said a duplicate key of the Ratna Bhandar was found.”
The government is claiming it has a duplicate key of Ratna Bhandar for the last five years. It is yet to be proved whether the key found at a later stage is a duplicate key of the treasure trove or not. The government must clarify to the public soon, Acharya said.
Following a hue and cry across the state, the government had constituted a Commission of Inquiry led by Justice Raghubir Das. But the state government has yet to make the report of the Commission public, Acharya said.
The BJP leader also demanded that the state government should submit the report of Justice Raghubir Das Commission in the Assembly as soon as possible along with the action taken report.
If the Chief Minister and the state government are really concerned about the safety of Lord Jagannath’s property, then they should immediately open the Ratna Bhandar with the duplicate key, he demanded.
“Despite the order of the High Court, why has the government not opened the treasure for five years? The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), in its affidavit to the High Court, said that there is a threat to Ratna Bhandar and it needs to be repaired immediately,” the BJP leader said.
Senior Congress leader Bijay Patnaik also targeted the state government over the issue.
“It is the responsibility of the government to make the Commission of Inquiry report public. The first principle of the 5T initiative is transparency. If the government really believes in transparency, then the report should be made public.” Patnaik said.
Reacting to BJP’s statement, BJD spokesperson Lenin Mohanty said the BJP is telling imaginary stories to the people of Odisha.
“The Ratna Bhandar of the temple has not reopened for the last 38 years since 1985. Today’s statement of Acharya reveals cracks within the state BJP. Because, during 2000 to 2009, BJP leader Biswabhusan Harichandan was the Law Minister. So, the BJP indirectly blamed Harichandan for the non-opening of the Ratna Bhandar,” Mohanty said.
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