BHUBANESWAR : Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi on Tuesday said Lord Jagannath is the pride of Odia people and not meant for party politics.
Addressing the ‘Antarjatika Shree Jagannath Chetana Mahotsav-2025’ here, the chief minister said those who utilise Lord Jagannath for politics are defeated and perish. “The Lord graces his devotees and never tolerates arrogance,” he added.
Stating that the BJP government in the state is committed to take all steps for protecting and spreading the Shree Jagannath culture, the chief minister said it is ready to bring about the necessary reforms in this regard. He sought the cooperation of all sevayats, organisations working for Lord Jagannath and other stakeholders for enriching the Jagannath culture.
“The state government will also take steps to streamline the darshan system in the Temple,” Majhi said. Informing that a new darshan system will be introduced from January 20, he said it will help devotees have a smooth darshan of the deities.
“It is the duty of the state government and every Odia to protect Jagannath culture and work towards spreading it across the world. Lord Jagannath is the pride of Odia people,” he said.
The chief minister further said that the BJP government in Odisha has been working towards enriching the Jagannath culture since the day it came to power six months back. “In the first cabinet meeting of the government on June 12, a decision was taken to create a corpus fund of `500 crore for Shree Jagannath temple. This was followed by opening of all the four gates of the shrine the next day on June 13,” Majhi said.
The state government opened the Ratna Bhandar and has started its repair. Besides, counting of valuables of the Ratna Bhandar has also been started by the government, he added.