All four gates of Puri Jagannath temple reopened for devotees
Bhubaneswar (PTI): All four gates of Jagannath temple in Puri were reopened for devotees on Thursday morning in the presence of Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi and his council of ministers.
The three gates of the 12th century shrine, which were closed since COVID-19 pandemic, were reopened after the 'Mangal Alati' ritual of Lord Jagannath.
The chief minister, his two deputies, ministers, several BJP MPs and party leaders visited the temple and offered prayers before Lord Jagannath. They also conducted a 'parikrama' around the temple complex.
"After the oath-taking ceremony, the BJP government had on Wednesday evening taken its first decision to reopen all four gates of the temple. Today, the gates were reopened at 6.30 am after the 'Mangal Alati' ritual," Majhi told reporters in Puri.
The government will closely monitor the situation and take necessary steps, if required, to streamline the flow of devotees to the shrine, the CM said.
He said the Odisha government has also decided to set up a Rs 500 crore corpus fund for better management, maintenance and development of the temple. The provision will be made in the upcoming state budget, Majhi said.
Cabinet minister Suresh Pujari said a detailed report has been sought to know why the three gates of the temple have not been reopened after the pandemic.
"We had the darshan of Lord Jagannath and sought his blessings to protect humankind and give us all strength to serve the people of Odisha for the next five years," he said.
Opening all the temple gates was a key promise in the BJP's election manifesto. The previous BJD government had kept three out of four gates shut since the COVID-19 pandemic.
The devotees were allowed to enter through only Singhadwara (Lion Gate), while the gates located at the three other sides of the temple remained closed, causing inconvenience to the devotees.
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Mamata visits Bhabanipur EVM strong room, warns against counting irregularities
Kolkata (PTI): West Bengal Chief Minister and TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee early Friday warned against any attempt to tamper with the counting process, hours after she visited an EVM strong room in Bhabanipur, alleging possible malpractice.
Banerjee, who emerged around 12:07 am after spending nearly four hours at the counting centre for her Bhabanipur constituency housed in Sakhawat Memorial School in south Kolkata, said only one person would be allowed inside the designated counting area.
"Either the candidate or one agent can stay upstairs. I have also suggested installation of a CCTV camera for the media," she told reporters.
Stressing the need for transparency, she said, "It is essential to maintain transparency. People’s votes must be protected. I rushed here after receiving complaints. The central forces initially did not allow me to enter."
Sounding a stern note ahead of the May 4 counting, she added, "If there is any plan to tamper with the counting process, it will not be tolerated."
On Thursday evening, Banerjee had reached the Bhabanipur Assembly segment counting centre, which houses the strong room for EVMs used in the April 29 polling, citing suspicion of tampering with the machines.
She entered the premises along with her election agent and remained inside for hours, even as Kolkata Mayor and TMC candidate from the Kolkata Port segment Firhad Hakim reached the spot but could not meet her.
"I reached here upon learning that the chief minister has arrived. But I couldn’t meet her since she was already inside the premises, exercising her right as a candidate to visit strong rooms. I wasn’t allowed there. I will not be able to confirm what exactly is transpiring inside," Hakim said.
The development coincided with protests by TMC candidates Kunal Ghosh and Shashi Panja outside the Khudiram Anushilan Kendra in north Kolkata, where they staged a sit-in alleging irregularities and possible tampering of EVMs stored in strong rooms, leading to face-offs between TMC and BJP supporters.
Earlier in a video message, Banerjee had urged party leaders, workers and polling agents to maintain a 24-hour vigil on EVM strong rooms, alleging that the BJP could attempt to tamper with the machines before counting begins.
Her remarks come amid heightened political tension in the state following a fiercely contested Assembly election, with parties closely monitoring arrangements and raising concerns over transparency.
