BHUBANESWAR: Alleging large scale irregularities in preparations for Lord Jagannath’s Nabakalebara festival, the State BJP on Friday demanded that the Odisha Government should make details of funds provided and expenditure made on different works public.
“The State Government should present before the people the details relating to funds allocated for different projects for Nabakalebara and expenditure made during the preparation,” senior BJP leader Bijay Mohapatra said while speaking to mediapersons here.
Mohapatra said people should know how much money was provided and how much has been spent on different projects as irregularities are suspected to have taken place in various works being done for development of infrastructure for the mega festival.
Describing the BJD Government as inefficient, callous and arrogant, the BJP leader alleged that major works including road construction, healthcare facilities and drinking water arrangement are yet to be completed though Rath Yatra is scheduled on July 18.
“The inaction of the State Government has led to one failure after another,” the BJP leader said and alleged that Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik is responsible for the gross mismanagement right from search of ‘Daru’ (sacred neem trees for carving new idols).
There were deviation and mismanagement in all important rituals, he said adding, finally bungling during Brahma Parivartan has triggered widespread public anger. He demanded that mobile call details for three days (June 14, 15 and 16) of Chief Administrator of Shri Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) Suresh Mohapatra, officials overseeing Nabakalebara festival in Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) and Daitapatis inside the temple should be brought under probe to know what happened during Brahma Parivartan of the deities.
Mohapatra criticised the Chief Minister for having made elaborate arrangements for inauguration of several Nabakalebara projects on Saturday while major works remain incomplete.
The BJP leader alleged that the CMO had circulated the news of the Chief Minister pulling up the Director General of Police (DGP) keeping an eye on the week-long protest yatra of the BJP launched on June 30. “It was meaningless at this juncture as the incident had taken place in April,” he said.
He also accused the Government of not consulting Puri Shankaracharya and Gajapati of Puri Dibyasingha Deb about Nabakalebara festival. He alleged that the Crime Branch probe into circulation of fake ‘Brahma’ photographs in social media is a cover-up and reiterated the demand for a judicial probe into the entire matter.