BHUBANESWAR: The State unit of BJP on Monday criticised senior Congress leader Narasingh Mishra for his remarks on Sankaracharya of Gobardhan Peeth, Puri, Swami Nischalananda Saraswati in the Assembly.
Terming certain remarks of the Congress Legislature Party leader during discussion on the Odisha Hindu Religious Endowments (Amendment) Bill, 2019 as ‘derogatory’, BJP spokesperson Golak Mohapatra demanded an apology from him.
“Swami Nischalananda Saraswati is the head of Gobardhan Peeth, Puri and this has been recognised by the court. The seer is the symbol of Hindu faith and question his surname and educational background is not only unfortunate but deplorable,” Mohapatra told a media conference here. Dubbing this another attempt by Mishra to denigrate the Puri Sankaracharya and undermine the Jagannath culture, the BJP leader said Mishra had stoked a controversy by making similar statement when he was Law Minister of the State.
Responding to the BJP allegation, Mishra said he stood by his statement made in the House. “I stand by my statement. There is no question of apology,” Mishra said. He said the BJP leaders are good at politicising religious issue and they are doing it now.