Puri Seer accuses Mamata of commercializing Lord Jagannath’s name
The Puri seer on Thursday accused the West Bengal government of misusing the name of Lord Jagannath for commercial gains rather than religious devotion. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said she holds the Puri Jagannath temple in high esteem and has been a regular visitor as a devotee for years.
Addressing a press conference, the Shankaracharya of Govardhan Peeth, Swami Nischalananda Saraswati, said, “The West Bengal government is misusing the name of Lord Jagannath for commercial purposes. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee does not have the religious sentiment required to name the Digha temple as ‘Jagannath Dham’.” Clarifying his remarks, the 81-year-old seer pointed out that Puri’s economy is significantly supported by pilgrims from West Bengal.
“Even Mamata Banerjee knows that Puri thrives because of Bengali devotees. Local servitors, hotels, and traders benefit from this,” he said. “To stop the flow of revenue from Bengal to Odisha, she (Mamata) has constructed a Jagannath Temple in Digha and termed it as ‘Dham’. Using the ‘Dham’ tag is not acceptable,” the seer said, adding she thinks Bengali pilgrims will now spend money in Digha.
Replying to a question, he also criticized ISKCON for conducting different rituals and festivals of Lord Jagannath, including Rath Yatra, on different dates and days not in accordance with the scriptures.
“ISKCON should stop all this,” he demanded. The West Bengal government inaugurated the Jagannath temple in Digha on April 30 and named it ‘Jagannath Dham’, triggering a row.
The controversy began after the West Bengal government inaugurated a Jagannath temple in Digha on April 30, 2025, and named it ‘Jagannath Dham’. The move triggered sharp objections from Puri’s Gajapati Maharaja Divyasingha Deb, Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi, and servitors of the Jagannath Temple, who argue that the ‘Dham’ designation is traditionally and spiritually reserved for Puri.
Meanwhile, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said she holds the Puri Jagannath temple in high esteem and has been a regular visitor as a devotee for years. Reacting to the Odisha government’s objections over the naming of the newly constructed temple in Digha as ‘Jagannath Dham’, Banerjee told reporters that she could neither understand nor comment on how the BJP-led government chose to react to it.
“The Digha temple had come up adhering to all rituals and scriptures, with one of the Doyitapatis (servitors) of Puri temple himself deciding on the religious norms and practices to follow,” Banerjee said. “Let the Odisha government do whatever it likes about the Digha Jagannath temple. I have deep respect for the 12th-century shrine. I am a devotee of Lord Jagannath. But can’t there be another Jagannath temple in Digha?”
She said hundreds of people from Odisha are visiting the Digha temple. “So why is the Odisha government so upset,” she asked. Stating she doesn’t know much about the intricacies of scriptures and rituals, Banerjee claimed, “We consulted experts and priests and went by their words.”
“Which is the greater religion? The religion of humanity is supreme to me. I love people. I love humanity and for me, that is true religion,” she added. Asked about the statement made by Puri Gajapati King Dibyasingha Deb, who said the Digha temple cannot be referred to as ‘Jagannath Dham’, Banerjee said, “I have full respect for his views.”
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