Congress organises ‘Tulsi Yatra’ to demand reopening of all gates of Jagannath temple

BHUBANESHWAR, Dec 1: Opposition Congress in Odisha on Friday took out a ‘Tulsi Yatra’ during which ‘tulsi’ or basil leaves collected from homes throughout 314 blocks of the state have been supplied to Lord Jagannath in Puri as a mark of protest over closure of the three of the 4 gates of the Twelfth-century shrine.
The Congress, which organised the 60km ‘Tulsi Yatra’ from Bhubaneswar to Puri, carried the leaves in a car adorned as a ‘rath’ with idols of Lord Jaganath and his siblings positioned on the prime.
Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee (OPCC) president Sarat Pattnayak, in-charge A Chellakumar, former presidents Prasad Harichandan and Jaydev Jena, marketing campaign committee chairman Bijay Patnaik, MLAs Taraprasad Bahinipati and Suresh Routray and plenty of different senior occasion leaders took half within the yatra, which began from Congress Bhawan right here.
“As the federal government has shut three doorways of the temple, devotees are struggling. Congress supporters from throughout the state introduced tulsi leaves for providing to Lord Jagannath,” stated Chellakumar.
Pattanayak stated they organised the yatra to get up the federal government from slumber in order that they will reopen all of the 4 gates.
“Although we had raised this demand earlier than the start of Kartik month, the federal government didn’t pay attention. We’re holding this distinctive protest to request the federal government to reopen the doorways,” he stated.
The Congress additionally demanded reopening of the temple’s treasury ‘Ratna Bhandar’, which has remained closed since 1978. The temple’s treasury must be reopened for its restore and stock of valuables saved inside its chambers, the president stated.
Senior BJD chief Amar Prasad Satpathy stated the Congress doesn’t have any difficulty in its arms, so it’s enjoying faith politics.
On November 9, the Congress had staged an agitation named as ‘Sankirtan Satyagraha’ during which the leaders and employees carried out ‘Sankirtan’ in entrance of various Jagannath temples throughout the state to press the federal government to reopen the 4 gates of the temple.
Previous to this, the occasion had staged demonstrations in Puri on October 16 over the identical demand. (PTI)