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In a desperate damage control mode, Bharatiya Janata Party leader Sambit Patra, who was in the soup for his ‘controversial’ remarks relating to Lord Jagannath, sought to clear the air around his statement, saying that he was apologetic for his ‘slip of the tongue’, and that he would offer penance in the name of Lord Jagannath as an apology.
According to ANI, Patra, the BJP candidate from Puri Lok Sabha seat, landed in a row in Odisha after he told a local news channel that ‘Lord Jagannath is a devotee (bhakt) of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’. He later described it as a ‘slip of the tongue’.
Speaking to ANI about the remark Monday night, Patra said, “Today one of my statements has become controversial. It was when Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s roadshow came to an end in Puri and I was giving out bites to several media channels.”
“I had given out bytes to almost 15-16 channels wherein I was repeating that Prime Minister Modi is an ardent devotee of Maha Prabhu Jagannath Ji. Even as the chief minister of Ahmedabad and even before that, PM Modi used to regularly visit and offer prayers at Lord Jagannath temple there in Ahmedabad,” Patra said.
He further said, “I was repeating the same to every channel when a media person came to me for a bite. It so happened that amid a lot of people, hot weather, and noise, I unknowingly said just the opposite of what I had been saying all along. I mistakenly said that Lord Jagannath is a devotee of PM Modi.”
“This is not possible; no person in his right mind can say that God is a devotee of any human being. The mistake happened unknowingly while giving out bytes to a channel. I agree that the sentiments of some people have been hurt due to my statement, but even the lord forgives a person for committing a mistake unknowingly,” said Patra.
He further clarified, “It was never my intention to commit this mistake, but still because Mahaprabhu Jagannath is the Lord of the Universe and I am an ardent devotee just like the hundreds and thousands of Odias, I feel I should convey my apology and offer penance to the Lord for a ‘slip of the tongue’ that occurred unknowingly.”
“Hence, I have decided to observe fasting as an apology,” said Patra.
The opposition was not impressed with Patra’s comments , TMC Rajya Sabha MP Sagarika Ghose in tweet on X wrote, BJP is destroying the Hindu faith by placing its own politicians above God. The frauds must be thrown out once and for all.
Shameful. “Lord Jagannath is @narendramodi’s bhakt” says @BJP4India Puri candidate @sambitswaraj, later clarifies as “slip of the tongue.” The @BJP4India again insults the true faith of crores of Indians and again reveals that it is only politicising religion for politics. BJP is…
— Sagarika Ghose (@sagarikaghose) May 21, 2024
