BHUBANESWAR/PURI: Senior BJP leader and former Union minister Subramanian Swamy on Friday said that he will take up the Srimandir Parikrama project issue with Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik.
The BJP leader met Shankaracharya Swami Nischalananda Saraswati at the Gobardhan Peetha in Puri and discussed several issues with him. Stating that he was aware of the controversies surrounding the project, Swamy said there is a need to end the controversy.
Swamy said that he will discuss the issue with the Chief Minister and ask him what he wants. “Biju Patnaik was a close friend and I have good relations with his son and present Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik. I will take up the issue and speak to Naveen. There is a need to end the controversy,” he added.
The BJP leader said that temples were the centres of knowledge and kings also used to visit such places. It is everybody’s duty to protect temples. He, however, said that temples should be free from government contol. “A government can intervene if there are some irregularities,” he said.
Swamy’s meeting with the Shankaracharya has assumed significance as the seer had opposed the Srimandir project twice during the last one week and cautioned the state government over the issue.