Row over Sambit Patra’s ‘Lord Jagannath bhakt of PM Modi’ remark, he clarifies | India News – Times of India

NEW DELHI: The Bhartiya Janata Party’s Sambit Patra landed in huge controversy on Monday after calling Lord Jagannath a ‘bhakt’ (devotee) of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Patra, who is the BJP candidate from Puri Lok Sabha seat, was speaking to reporters as PM Modi led a roadshow in the morning. Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik hit out at Patra for the remark asking “BJP to keep the Lord above any political discourse”.
“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 Odia Asmita. Calling Mahaprabhu a bhakt of another human being is totally condemnable. I strongly denounce the statement made by the BJP Puri Lok Sabha candidate 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,” Patnaik posted on X.

Soon after Patnaik’s condemnation, AAP and Congress also joined in to call out Patra.

Calling this the “height of arrogance”, Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal also slammed Patra’s remark. “I strongly condemn this statement of BJP. They have started thinking that they are above God. This is height of arrogance. Calling God bhakt of Modi ji is an insult to God,” the Aam Aadmi Party chief wrote on X.
The Kerala unit of Congress also used this opportunity to take a jibe at the BJP. “Sambit Patra says that Prabhu Jagannath is a Bhakth of Modi. @sambitswaraj, God sends no one away empty, except those who are full of themselves,” the party wrote.
The BJP leader, however, issued a clarification addressed to Odisha chief minister calling it a “slip of tongue”.
“Naveen Ji Namaskar! I gave number of bytes today to multiple media channels after the massive success of Shri Narendra Modiji’s Road Show in Puri today, everywhere I mentioned that Modi ji is an ardent “Bhakt” of Shri Jagannath Mahaprabhu ..by mistake during one of the bytes I pronounced just the opposite ..I know you too know and understand this ..Sir let’s not make an issue out of a nonexistent issue ..we all have “slip of tongue sometimes”.. Thanks and Pranam!” he wrote.

Earlier in the morning, PM Modi offered prayers at the Jagannath temple and led a roadshow with BJP state president Manmohan Samal, the party’s MP candidate Sambit Patra and Puri MLA nominee Jayanta Sarangi.
BJP has fielded Sambit Patra against Congress’s Sucharita Mohanty from the seat. Puri will go to polling in Phase 6 of Lok Sabha elections on May 25.