Allowing Rath Yatra May Send a Wrong Message to World: BJP Leader Kharbela Swain

SC Order Should Be Seen from a Broader Perspective

Gajapati Maharaja Indicated Rath Yatra Should Not Be Held This Year by Skipping Cherapanhara Ritual during Snana Yatra

Bhubaneswar: The Supreme Court’s order to cancel the annual Rath Yatra should be seen from a broader perspective, said Odisha BJP leader Kharbela Swain today. 

“What the Shree Jagannath Temple Managing Committee has said is not important and also we don’t need to discuss who got hurt or benefited (by the SC order). We need to understand the very fundamental thing”, Swain said while talking to the media.

By organizing the festival this year, India will give a very bad message to the world. The secular credentials of the country will be deeply hurt, he said.

“If we celebrate Rath Yatra this year in Odisha to unhurt the religious sentiments of the devotees, what message will be conveyed? The message would be loud and clear that India is a Hindu-dominated country and it may cause damage to the secularism of the country”, he said.

In view of the prevailing COVID-19 pandemic situation, the Haj pilgrimage has been cancelled this year. Similarly, lakhs of Christians were not allowed to visit Churches on Easter and the Pope addressed them virtually. Several major sporting events like the Olympics and IPL were also cancelled, he said.

In India, Masjids remained closed for special Eid prayers this year despite there were voracious demands by Muslim leaders to allow the Muslims to visit their religious places, he added.

“How can we say that the festival can be held with minimum number of people? Even lakhs of people from Puri district itself will gather. How you can stop them, he asked.

Nothing can be predicted in advance. While announcing lockdown, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had not imagined that lakhs of people would walk over miles on roads with their families, he said.

Even Puri Gajapati Maharaja Dibyasingha Deb had indicated that Rath Yatra should not be held this year by skipping Cherapanhara rituals during the Snana Yatra. Due to pressures from others, now he is reacting to the Supreme Court order, the BJP leader added.

In the past, the festival could not be held for 32 years. Had that diminished our devotion to Lord Jagannath? The festival can be organized next year, he said.

There are two categories of people making hue and cry over the Supreme Court order. One category is making emotional outburst, while other category has vested business interests, he added.

The Supreme Court order should be seen from a broader perspective keeping secular credentials at large, he stressed.