Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin, on Tuesday, May 21, took strong exception to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s allegation that the keys of the Puri Jagannath temple treasury were in Tamil Nadu. Stalin asked the PM "not to denigrate Tamil Nadu and Tamil people for garnering votes" in north Indian and other states. The CM’s reaction comes days after PM Modi, in two public meetings in Odisha, raked up the issue of missing keys of Puri Jagannath temple.
In 2018, the keys of the ‘Ratna Bhandar’ - which is the treasury of the 12th century temple containing the gold and other properties of the temple - went missing. A judicial inquiry under retired Orissa High Court judge Raghubir Dash was ordered into the matter by CM Naveen Patnaik and a 324-page report was submitted by the inquiry commission the same year, which is yet to be made public.
Speaking at the public meetings, Modi alleged that the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) suppressed the judicial commission report, and that the keys had “gone to Tamil Nadu”.
“When the keys of houses are lost, we pray to Lord Jagannath and find them within one or two hours with the Lord’s blessing. But the keys of Lord Jagannath Ratna Bhandar are missing, and it has been six years now. The report of the commission of inquiry into the missing keys of Ratna Bhandar report has been suppressed for six years as the keys have gone to Tamil Nadu,” Modi alleged. This is seen as a direct dig at CM Patnaik’s close aide and BJD’s key election strategist VK Pandian, who is from Tamil Nadu. Modi also promised that this report would be made public if BJP comes to power in Odisha.
Taking strong exception to Modi’s speech, the Chief Minister said that the PM’s statement had, apart from insulting crores of believers of Lord Jagannath, been offensive to the people of Tamil Nadu who maintain a cordial relationship with the people of Odisha.
"Can Prime Minister Modi accuse the people of Tamil Nadu of stealing from the treasury of Lord Jagannath of Puri? Will calling the people of Tamil Nadu dishonest not amount to insulting the people of Tamil Nadu? Why does the PM harbour so much hatred towards the people of Tamil Nadu ?" Stalin, who is also the DMK chief, said in a statement.
Hitting out at the Prime Minister, he said, "The Prime Minister who glorifies Tamil language and lauds the intellectual capacity of Tamils while he is in Tamil Nadu, projects the same people as 'thieves' and 'hate-mongers' while he is campaigning in Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, and Odisha. People will understand his double standards, the Prime Minister must stop denigrating Tamil Nadu and Tamils for votes," he said.
Stalin also accused PM Modi "of promoting enmity between states and their peoples through his hate speeches instead of being a role model and highlighting his government’s achievements and party’s ideology and levelling constructive criticism against the opposition during campaigns without violating political decorum".
(With IANS inputs)