"Who instructed VK Pandian to take Kamiya Jani to Srimandir? If Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik had issued instructions in this regard, then he should apologise to the people of Odisha," demanded the Congress party on Saturday.
Addressing a presser, the Odisha Pradesh Congress Congress (PCC) President Sarat Pattanayak said that the incident has hurt the sentiments of scores of devotees of Lord Jagannath.
Speaking on the issue, senior Congress leader Bijay Patnaik said, “VK Pandian always says that whatever he is doing is on the instructions of CM Naveen Patnaik. Had CM Naveen Patnaik called the ‘controversial woman’ for the promotion of Mahaprasad and whether the need of such a blogger was required?”
Patnaik added, “If the act has been done on CM’s instructions, it is condemnable. If CM says that those were not his instructions, would he seek an explanation from Pandian and Srimandir administrator in public instead of any letter? Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik should tender a public apology, else Congress will resort to extreme acts.”
It is pertinent to mention here that the opposition parties including the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Congress have turned the heat on the Odisha government and questioned how a ‘promoter of beef consumption’ was granted access to the Puri Jagannath temple where the entry of non-Hindus is prohibited.