Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has hit out at BJP Lok Sabha candidate Sambit Patra for his highly controversial remark that Lord Jagannath is a bhakt of Prime Minister Narendra Modi .
The Odisha chief minister, in an X post, criticised Sambit Patra for hurting Odia ‘asmita’ (pride).
“Mahaprabhu Shree Jagannatha is the Lord of the Universe. Calling Mahaprabhu a ‘bhakt’ of another human being is an insult to the Lord… it is totally condemnable. This has hurt the sentiments and demeaned the faith of crores of Jagannatha bhaktas and Odias across the world.
Mahaprabhu Shree Jagannatha is the Lord of Universe.
Calling Mahaprabhu a bhakt of another human being is an insult to the Lord. This has hurt the sentiments and demeaned the faith of crores of Jagannatha bhaktas and Odias across the world.
The Lord is the greatest Symbol of…
— Naveen Patnaik (@Naveen_Odisha) May 20, 2024
“The Lord is the greatest symbol of Odia asmita. I strongly denounce the statement… and I appeal to the BJP to keep the Lord above any political discourse. By this, you have deeply hurt Odia asmita and this will be remembered and condemned by people of Odisha for a very long time,” Naveen Patnaik said.
The comments has put the BJP on the back-foot and puts Patra’s winning chances in jeopardy as there is massive outrage over his remarks.
Bharatiya Janata Party leader Sambit Patra, 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’.
