Mamata seeks apology after Odisha admits Puri Temple wood not used in Jagannath Dham idols

Kolkata: After the Odisha government admitted that surplus Neem wood from Puri’s Jagannath Temple was not used to craft idols at the newly inaugurated Jagannath Dham in Digha, Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday demanded an apology from those who, she said, had defamed the state by levelling false accusations against her government.

Speaking at a public distribution event in Suti, Murshidabad, Banerjee condemned the spread of such misinformation and demanded that those responsible be punished for maligning Bengal’s image.

“They should hold their ears and apologise. They blamed me for stealing Neem wood from Puri’s Jagannath Temple. Why should I steal? Is there any shortage of Neem trees in West Bengal? There are four Neem trees in my house only,” the Chief Minister stated. Banerjee also urged the Digha Jagannath Dham authorities to plant 100 Neem trees inside the temple premises.

“We have planted 500 trees, and another 100 Neem trees will be planted. We don’t need any favours from anyone. Remember one thing — we are not thieves. We don’t harm people. We try to help them. Those who accused me of stealing Neem wood are now saying that the allegations were false. Why did you malign us then? We have set up a unique temple, a wonder of the world. If you make false allegations and can’t prove them, you will get a befitting reply from the people,” Banerjee added.

The controversy had begun after servitor Ramakrishna Dasmohapatra, who attended the inauguration of Digha temple, claimed in a TV interview that he had used surplus wood from the 2015 Nabakalebara to craft the idols at the Digha shrine.

The Odisha government had ordered a probe into the matter. Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA), which carried out a probe, said that there was no truth in this claim. Odisha Law minister Prithiviraj Harichandan, who had ordered the probe, reportedly said: “We had the matter investigated by the SJTA and no truth was found in the claim. Dasmohapatra was summoned by the SJTA, and he admitted that it was a slip of the tongue.”

Dasmohapatra, who is also the secretary of the Daita Nijog, was questioned by SJTA administrator Arvind Padhee on whether excess Neem wood from Puri was used in Digha. The probe carried out by SJTA also revealed that Dasmohapatra had enlisted a Bhubaneswar-based artisan to craft the idols for Jagannath Dham in Digha.