Bhubaneswar: Puri Gajapati Dibyasingha Deb has categorically stated that the Gajapati has “at no point in time” since 1960 “been entrusted with the keys to the inner Ratnabhandar” — the main treasury of Lord Jagannath temple. He said the state government was the supreme authority entrusted with ensuring the safety of the Ratnabhandar and with the safekeeping of its keys.
The King was responding to aspersions cast on him by political leaders and a senior servitor of the Jagannath temple about his role in the ongoing row over the missing treasury keys. He said he was surprised to learn about the loss of the keys at the Temple Managing Committee meeting held April 4, 2017 and had asked the officials concerned to try again to locate them.
In a two-page statement issued to the media, Thursday, the Gajapati said he has also not been “involved in any way with the handling of the said keys”. “The few times that the inner Ratnabhandar has been opened after 1960, it has been the Srimandir Administrator (as the Chief Executive Officer of Srimandir) and the Puri Collector (who prior to 2004 was also the Vice-Chairman of Srimandir managing Committee) who have been involved with the handling and custody of the keys of the inner Ratnabhandar,” the statement read.
According to the statement, before 1960, the Puri Gajapati used to be the superintendent of the Jagannath temple and the keys of the Ratnabhandar used to remain with him. But the Gajapati has not had anything to do with the inner Ratnabhandar keys since the Odisha government took over management of the Srimandir from his father and then King Bairakishore Deb after the implementation of the Sri Jagannath Temple Act in 1960.
“Since 1960, the Gajapati has been entrusted with the custody of one out of the three keys of outer Ratnabhandar and his authorised representative attends every opening of outer Ratnabhandar with the said key, as and when required by the Srimandir Administration,” the statement clarifies.
The Gajapati has also added that the outer Ratnabhandar cannot be opened unless all the three custodians of the keys — representative of the Gajapati, Srimandir Administrator and Srimadir Bhandar-mekapa — are present with the keys in their respective custody.
As chairman of Srimandir Managing Committee, the Gajapati only presides over the meetings of the administration and signs the proceedings. His role and responsibilities, the statement says, are the same as other ordinary members.
The Gajapati’s statement counters suggestions made by Senior Srimandir servitor Ramakrushna Dasmohapatra that the King was in possession of the keys. The servitor had also said the King was to blame for not taking any proactive measure on the issue and said the Gajapati was supreme and the first servitor of the temple. He also sought a clarification on whether the Gajapati had the keys.
Even as the King issued the statement, a tit-for-tat over the issue continued among political leaders. Law minister Pratap Jena countered a comment Union minister Dharmendra Pradhan had made regarding the issue. “CM has already ordered a judicial probe in this issue. Union Minister (Pradhan) should repose confidence in the probe and truth will come out,” Jena said.
Pradhan had earlier criticised the Chief Minister for remaining silent about the issue over the past two months. “Devotees of Lord Jagannath and people of Odisha expect more transparency from persons who are responsible for safekeeping the Rathabhandar’s property,” he had said and pointed out that if there was any truth behind the disappearance of the Ratnabhandar key it was a serious matter. He also called for the institution of a judicial commission of inquiry instead of trying to hoodwink the people of the state.