Rath Yatra controversy yet to be resolved

Before forming views, the seer held consultation with different religious experts and mutt heads, said an official of Govardhan peeth, the seat of Puri Shankaracharya.  Deb said the Sankaracharya's opinion was conclusive and that the government should not overrule it.

According to the Record of Rights (RoR) of the 12th century shrine, the decision of the Shankaracharya should be final in case of rituals and traditions.

However, Sri Jagannath Temple Act, 1955 the state government is more powerful than the managing committee.  The delay on the part of the government in taking a decision on the matter is due to the fear that the ban could result in religious outbursts by the Jagannath devotees who are emotionally attached with their Lord.  

“It is a sensitive matter. The government must take a decision after considering all angles associated with it,”  a senior law department official said.

The Daitapati priests, who traditionally remain in charge of the deities when they come out of the temple for the annual Rath Jatra, are opposed to the Shankaracharya's views and threaten to boycott the festival if the move was not revoked.  

“We will not cooperate with the temple administration during the Rath Jatra if it implements the proposal,” president of Daitapati Nijog Ramakrushna Dasmohapatra said.  

The Daitapati priests argue that as the very nomenclature of the Lord suggests that He is Jagannath, the master of the universe, there should be no ban on the people cutting across religions, castes and creed, from climbing the chariots and touching the deities during the festival.  

The Puri king said, “There is no evidence in the temple's RoR where devotees were allowed to climb the chariots and touch the deities. It only started in 2006 when the temple administration fitted ladders and allowed devotees to climb the Raths not knowing that they created a wrong practice.”