Sambit Patra, the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) candidate for the Puri Lok Sabha constituency, has issued an unconditional apology following a controversial comment he made about Lord Jagannath. The controversy arose from Patra’s statement on a local television channel, where he said, “Lord Jagannath is a devotee of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.” This comment was met with widespread criticism.
Patra later clarified that it was a “slip of the tongue” and that he had meant to say that Prime Minister Modi is an ardent devotee of Lord Jagannath, not the other way around. To express his regret, Patra posted on X (formerly Twitter), stating, “For this mistake, I apologise at the feet of Lord Sri Jagannath. I will fast for the next three days to atone for this mistake.” He further explained that the error occurred while he was speaking to multiple media outlets on the occasion of Modi’s roadshow in Puri, and he inadvertently said ‘Modi’s Bhakt Jagannath’ instead of ‘Maha Prabhu Sri Jagannath’s Bhakt Modi.’
The remarks sparked significant backlash, particularly from Odisha’s political and religious communities. Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik condemned Patra’s statement, emphasizing that Lord Jagannath is revered as the “Lord of the Universe” and suggesting that referring to Him as a devotee of a human being is deeply insulting. Patnaik’s post on X stated, “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.”
Patnaik also appealed to the BJP to keep religious figures and deities out of political discourse, stressing that such remarks hurt the pride and sentiments of the Odia people.
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal also condemned Patra’s statement, describing it as a reflection of arrogance. In his post on X, Kejriwal wrote, “I strongly condemn this statement of the BJP. They have started thinking that they are above God. This is a height of arrogance. Calling God a bhakt of Modi ji is an insult to God.”
The incident underscores the sensitivities involved in political discourse around religious figures in India, highlighting the need for careful and respectful communication, especially when it pertains to deeply held religious beliefs and cultural pride.
