PURI:Activists of Pujyapooja Sansad, a local socio-cultural body, led by BJP leader Krushna Chandra Jagdeb, staged a demonstration outside Jagannath temple protesting shifting of the statue of Utkalmani Pandit Gopabandhu Das on Tuesday.
Condemning the local administration for unceremonious shifting of Utkalmani’s statue, they said it should be reinstalled with honour.
The agitators alleged that though the administration had assured to reinstall the statue in a suitable location, it continues to be placed on the roof of a shoe stand outside the temple. Senior BJP leader Biswabhusan Harichandan also joined the activists.
The statue was installed in front of the Lion’s Gate of the Jagannath temple by Mahatma Gandhi on May 8, 1934. Earlier, Congress leaders had protested the issue. They had claimed that many Nabakalebara and car festivals have been conducted smoothly with the statue in front of the Lion’s Gate and it had never come in the way of traffic management or vehicle movement.