Puri: Puri Gajapati Maharaj Dibyasingha Deb on Tuesday welcomed the decision of the Centre to withdraw the National Monument Authority (NMA)'s proposed heritage bylaws for the Lord Jagannath Temple.
The Puri King appealed to the Central government to hold prior consultations with the State government of Odisha before taking any steps concerning the Srimandir.
He also stressed for the collective works by both the Centre and the Odisha government for the transformation of Jagannath Dham Puri.
"Both Central and State Governments must work hand-in-hand to transform Shri Jagannatha-dhama Puri into one of the foremost religious, spiritual and cultural centres of the world," the Puri king said in a statement.
Union Ministry of Culture on Monday directed NMA to withdraw the draft notification for the proposed heritage bylaws for the Sri Jagannath Temple following much hue and cry in the State.
In a tweet, Union Culture Minister Prahlad Singh Patel stated that he has directed NMA authorities to withdraw the draft notification for the contentious bylaws. The Minister added that the draft notification was issued without the knowledge of NMA chairperson.
Earlier, a team of BJP MPs from Odisha led by Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan and a team of BJD MPs led by Puri Lok Sabha member Pinaki Mishra had met Patel separately in New Delhi on Monday and submitted memorandums for withdrawing the new bylaws.
(Edited By Pradeep Singh)