Bhubaneswar, July 26: The opposition BJD and Congress today targeted the BJP government over the alleged mismanagement during the Rath Yatra in Puri.
Moving an adjournment motion on the issue in the state Assembly, Congress Legislature Party leader Rama Chandra Kadam said that this year’s Rath Yatra was unsuccessful as major irregularities occurred during the festivity.
Kadam alleged that major irregularities had occurred during the annual Rath Yatra festival which had never happened before.
Lord Balabhadra fell during the ‘Adapa Mandap Bije’ ritual. However, the government denied the allegations, claiming they were baseless and that no irregularity had occurred, stated Kadam accusing the state government of hiding the issues and described it as a matter of sorrow and regret.
On the other hand, BJD MLA Byomakesh Ray stated that on the day of the incident, neither the administrators nor the ministers were present.
Lord Balabhadra was left unattended on the “Charamala” for half an hour, with no one there to look after the situation. This incident has shocked the devotees. The Deputy Chief Minister termed it as a minor incident and referred to it as the Lord's divine play. Such statements have deeply hurt the sentiments of the people of Odisha and devotees of Lord Jagannath, said Ray.
Several issues including the death of one person during a stampede, police resorting to lathi-charge, traffic mismanagement, and ambulances being unable to get through, happened. Despite all these, the Minister’s statements are shameful. The government took the incident lightly. There were also reports of unauthorized individuals climbing onto the chariot, but no actions were taken against them. The Minister should accept the irrgularities and brief about the steps taken in this regard, added Ray.
Meanwhile, Law Minister Prithiviraj Harichandan countered the opposition's claims stating that the allegations leveled by the Opposition were based on falsehoods.
He clarified that no one died due to the stampede; instead, a person had passed away due to heart attack.
The Law Minister further asserted that there were no issues with the rituals of the holy trinity and that everything was handled appropriately.
