Kolkata, May 4 (UNI) The Bengal BJP on Sunday attacked West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee over the alleged use of leftover timber from the Nabakalebara rituals at Puri's Jagannath Temple to carve the idols for the new Rs 250-crore grand Jagannath temple complex in Digha, West Bengal. The BJP welcomed the Odisha government's decision to investigate the allegations.

BJP IT cell chief and co-incharge for West Bengal Amit Maviya wrote on his X handle, “Leftover timber meant for Puri’s Jagannath Temple was used to carve deities in Digha — and now a probe has been ordered.”

“There’s a reason why West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and her Trinamool Congress are often called a bunch of thieves. The TMC runs like a well-oiled corruption machine, sparing nothing — not even our deities. The people of Bengal deserve better than these constant embarrassments and shady dealings,” Malviya added.

Odisha’s Law Minister Prithiviraj Harichandan on Friday wrote to Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) chief administrator Arabinda Padhee, requesting an internal investigation into the alleged use of surplus wood from the Puri shrine for carving idols at the new Jagannath temple complex in Digha, West Bengal.

The Odisha government’s move follows after Ramakrushna Dasmahapatra - the secretary of ’Daitapati Nijog’, a group of servitors who serve Lord Jagannath during the Rath Yatra, said in an interview with a Bengali TV channel that he had advised the Chief Minister to install Neem Daru deities instead of stone idols—a suggestion she reportedly accepted. Following her approval, he arranged for the Daru Bigrahas to be provided.

Dasmahapatra also reportedly mentioned that during the 2015 Nabakalebara—a grand ritual involving the replacement of the deities’ wooden forms—the Daitapatis had collected Daru (sacred Neem trees) under the guidance of Devi Mangala of Kakatpur. After the idols were carved, some wood remained. Using a portion of this leftover Daru, Dasmahapatra had new idols carved and installed at the Digha temple.

‘Nabakalebara’ is a ritual conducted every 12 or 19 years at the Puri temple, during which the wooden forms of the deities—Lord Balabhadra, Devi Subhadra, and Lord Jagannath—are replaced.

Alleging that the West Bengal government was involved in the use of unauthorised Neem wood, the Leader of the Opposition Suvendu Adhikari wrote on his X handle, “The questionable involvement of Servitors, and the unauthorised use of surplus Sacred Wood (sacred Neem wood from the Nabakalebara rituals) are a direct affront to ethics and morality surrounding the Jagannath Culture and centuries long traditions.”

The BJP MLA from Nandigram in East Midnapore also took a dig at the state government for labelling the Digha Jagannath temple as Jagannath Dham to mislead the people.

“The West Bengal Government has stooped to a new low with their deceitful tactics, officially labelling the Digha Project as the 'Jagannath Dham Cultural Centre' in documents, but promoting it as a 'Jagannath Temple' to mislead devotees and exploit their faith,” Adhikari said.

“Regarding the controversy of naming a newly constructed site as a 'Dham' must be addressed and West Bengal Government's duplicity should be exposed,” he said.

“’Dhams’ hold immense religious and cultural significance, deeply tied to specific deities, traditions, and historical contexts. The concept of a 'Dham' in Hinduism refers to a sacred pilgrimage site. Traditionally and historically the four Dhams are Badrinath, Dwarka, Puri, and Rameswaram. The Jagannath Temple in Puri, Odisha, is one such Dham, uniquely revered as the abode of Lord Jagannath, Balabhadra, and Subhadra, with centuries old rituals like the Rath Yatra,” he added.

“Replicating the Puri Jagannath Shree Mandir and passing it off as 'Jagannath Dham' with the intent to rival or replace Puri’s significance is deeply inappropriate. The roles played by Daitapati Nijog Secretary Ramakrushna Dasmohapatra and Radharaman Das aka Rahul Yadav also need to be looked into as their actions have caused blatant insult to the Jagannath culture, and their involvement reeks of negligence, eroding the trust of devotees by misusing the position they hold and their association with the respected Institutions,” Adhikari wrote.

Harichandan has also asked the Sree Jagannath Temple Authority to investigate the matter.

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