Another show-cause notice issued to Ramakrishna Das Mahapatra

Puri: Arabinda Padhee, the Chief Administrator of Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) today issued another show-cause notice to Daitapati Sevak Ramakrishna Das Mahapatra over the “Digha Jagannath Dham” row.

Padhee issued the second show-cause notice to Ramakrishna Das Mahapatra asking him to submit an explanation two days from receiving the notice.

The notice mentions that during the inauguration of the Shree Jagannath Temple at Digha, the name “Jagannath Dham – Digha” was used, and a signboard to this effect was displayed. As a senior Daitapati Sevak, Shri Das Mahapatra was aware of this, yet his participation in the consecration ceremony of the self-styled “Jagannath Dham – Digha” temple has created confusion among devotees regarding the traditions of Shree Jagannath Temple and has hurt the religious sentiments of countless Shri Jagannath devotees.

Therefore, the notice demands an explanation as to why he participated in the program of a temple named “Jagannath Dham – Digha” as a Shree Jagannath Temple servitor and whether he protested against the organizers of the Digha Shree Jagannath Temple at the time.

It is to be noted here that this is the second show-cause notice issued to Mahapatra over the controversy. The SJTA had issued the first notice to him on May 4 and given seven days of time to file his satisfactory reply, if not face actions as per the Shri Jagannath Temple Act, 1955.