Odisha Government Dismisses Rahul Gandhi's Claims About Lord Jagannath's Chariot Delay

Government Responds to Allegations

Bhubaneswar: The Odisha government has rejected Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's assertion that the chariots of Lord Jagannath in Puri were stopped for industrialist Gautam Adani. Officials described these remarks as 'illogical and inconsequential'.

Odisha's Law Minister, Prithiviraj Harichandan, clarified that Adani visited Puri on June 28, the day after the chariots were temporarily halted during the Rath Yatra festival.

During a party event titled 'Samvidhan Bachao Samavesh' in Bhubaneswar, Gandhi claimed that the Rath Yatra was interrupted for 'Adani and his family', suggesting undue influence on the state government.

In response, Harichandan stated, 'Adani, as a devotee, arrived in Puri a day after the Rath Yatra. Typically, the chariots reach their destination, the Gundicha temple, on the second day of the festival.'

The minister also noted that similar allegations had been made by the BJD party.

'Politicians making such claims only showcase their ignorance,' he added.

The Jagannath temple operates under the jurisdiction of the Odisha law department.

Adani and his family paid their respects to Lord Balabhadra, Devi Subhadra, and Lord Jagannath on June 28, standing before their chariots near the Shree Gundicha Temple.

Harichandan attributed the delay on the first day of the Rath Yatra to overcrowding and the chaotic pulling of Lord Balabhadra's chariot.

'Controlling Lord Balabhadra's chariot was challenging as it veered off course. Devotees pulled it in various directions, causing nearly an hour's delay to align the chariots,' he explained.

Odisha BJP president Manmohan Samal remarked, 'No one can halt the chariots in Puri unless it is the will of Lord Jagannath himself.'

Samal also mocked AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge's claim that Congress was responsible for establishing AIIMS Bhubaneswar.

'Kharge ji may have forgotten due to his age. It was then-Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee who laid the foundation stone for AIIMS Bhubaneswar on July 15, 2003,' he stated.

According to AIIMS Bhubaneswar's official website, Vajpayee initiated the project, which was later recognized as an autonomous institution through an ordinance passed on July 16, 2012, during the Congress-led UPA government.

Samal asserted that the Congress party has lost the support of the people in Odisha.

Odisha's Deputy Chief Minister K V Singh Deo characterized the Congress rally as mere 'political theatre'.

'What transpired in Bhubaneswar under the 'Samvidhan Bachao Rally', led by Rahul Gandhi and Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge, was not a genuine defense of constitutional values but rather political theatre at its most familiar form,' he expressed on social media.