Bhubaneswar: Days after a controversy erupted over an Odisha minister comparing Naveen Patnaik with Lord Jagannath, a row was created after some elderly women allegedly sang devotional songs in praise of the chief minister in Puri.
The song in praise of Patnaik was allegedly made up by a group of women lodged at the state run shelters for ‘Habisyalis’ (elderly women mostly widows who perform religious rituals in the Hindu month of Kartik).
A video of the song, which went viral, also showed Puri district collector Samarth Verma and other senior officials enjoying the song in which Patnaik is described as ‘karuna sagar’ (ocean of mercy), a term usually made in praise of Lord Jagannath.
The elderly women also compared the chief minister with “Tridev” (Brahma, Bishnu and Maheswar) for making all arrangements for them in Puri.
The state government has made arrangements for lodging, food, and darshan of Lord Jagannath for the inmates of the shelters for around 3,500 elderly women from different parts of the state who have assembled to perform religious rituals associated with ‘Kartik brata (rituals)’.
The song also described Patnaik as Lord Jagannath’s ‘chalanti pratima’ (walking idol).
The opposition BJP and Congress reacted strongly and condemned the state government accusing it of forcing elderly women to sing songs in praise of Patnaik by making arrangements for their religious rituals.
BJP leader Pravati Parida said, “It is unfortunate that the state’s BJD government is exploiting the emotions of elderly women by just giving them a place to stay for a month in Puri. It is unfortunate to compare Patnaik with the dieties Brahma, Vishnu and Maheswar in the bhajan. The district administration has drafted it.”
“I think the state government is at the height of its ego. It is drawing parallels with Lord Jagannath which is a direct insult to the religious sentiments of millions of devotees across the globe,” Parida said.
Senior Congress leader Jaydev Jena said the BJD government has arranged people and wrote songs praising Naveen Patnaik so that the elderly women could be influenced to vote for the party in the next election.
The BJD has rejected the allegation. “Habishyalis go to Puri to surrender before Lord Jagannath. During their stay they get completely engrossed in worshipping the Lord. So, if they praise or bless the chief minister there is nothing wrong in it,” said government chief whip Prasant Muduli.
Odisha Industries Minister P K Deb had sparked a row last month by comparing Patnaik with Lord Jagannath.
“Earlier when people went to other states from Odisha they were asked whether they were from Jagannath Dham. Now they take name of Naveen Patnaik,” the minister had said.
PTI