CM Banerjee refutes charges of timber from Puri’s Jagannath Dham being used to carve deities in Digha temple

Kolkata, May 5 (IANS) West Bengal Chief Minister, Mamata Banerjee, on Monday refuted allegations by the Odisha government of leftover timber meant for Puri’s Jagannath Dham Temple being used for carving deities in Jagannath Temple in Digha of East Midnapore district of West Bengal. 

“They claimed that I had stolen Neem trees from there. There are four Neem trees at my house. Even idols of Lord Jagannath are being sold, which people keep and worship at their homes,” Chief Minister Banerjee said while addressing the media persons at Baharampur during her two-day visit to strife-hit Murshidabad district.

Speaking on the occasion, Chief Minister Banerjee said that the Neem wood over which controversies are arising was brought by Puri Jagannath temple sevayat Ramkrishna Das Mahapatra, also known as Rajesh Daitapati, who was present at the inauguration of the temple on April 30.

“He brought it from some other place. I heard that he had been summoned and questioned in Odisha. We all go to Puri. We do not raise so many questions. Why are you so jealous? There is no medicine for jealousy,” Chief Minister Banerjee stated.

Speaking on the occasion, the Chief Minister also reminded the Odisha government on how the latter is dependent on West Bengal on many aspects.

“Where is a shortage of potatoes in Odisha, we supply that. We send engineers from out state when pipelines in Odisha get damaged because of cyclones. The maximum number of tourists to Puri are from West Bengal. What is your problem if there is a Jagannath temple at Digha?” Chief Minister Banerjee questioned.

Speaking on the occasion, Banerjee said that she had received information that Bengali-speaking people are beaten up in Odisha these days.

“This had happened in the past in some other states as well. In West Bengal currently, there are around 1.5 crore people who are from other states. But we will not oppress anyone.

"This is the difference between West Bengal and other states. We will speak to the Odisha government. We do not want any misunderstanding with anybody,” Chief Minister Banerjee said.