Bhubaneswar: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Odisha has sought the immediate arrest of Biju Janata Dal (BJD) leader and 5T Chairman VK Pandian for allegedly facilitating the visit of social media influencer Kamiya Jani to Jagannath temple at Puri town recently.
The BJP alleged that Kamiya Jani had earlier eaten beef and promoted the same in social media.
“Kamiya Jani had eaten beef in the past and she herself has admitted this. Former IAS officer VK Pandian, who recently joined the ruling BJD, has hurt the religious sentiments of crores of Hindus across the Globe by facilitating the visit of Kamiya Jani to Jagannath temple in Puri. Pandian also made arrangement for the social media influencer to partake Mahaprasad inside the temple,” alleged BJP leader Jatin Mohanty at a presser here today.
The state government and the Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) should take immediate steps for the arrest of VK Pandian under Section 295 (A) of the IPC.
The BJP leader further alleged that Kamiya Jani had taken a video camera to the 12th century shrine in violation of Section 30 (A) of the Shree Jagannath Temple Act-1952.
“The temple Act has strictly banned the use of video camera on the premises of Jagannath temple. However, Kamiya Jani had taken a video camera to the shrine and shot a video for her social media posting. The police should immediately arrest the social media influencer for flouting the temple rules,” Mohanty said.
The BJP has asked the state government and the SJTA to consult Puri Shankaracharya and take immediate steps to purify the shrine.
“The BJP will approach the court if the state government does to take the necessary steps in this regard at the earliest,” Mohanty said.
Some servitors of the shrine have expressed concern over the issue. “If the allegations made against the persons concerned are true then it is a matter of concern for all of us. The temple administration should look into the issue immediately,” said senior servitor Damodar Mahasuar.
Kamiya Jani, meanwhile, rejected the allegations and claimed that she had never eaten beef.
“5T chairman VK Pandian and social media influencer Kamiya Jani did not partake Mahaprasad on the temple premises. They partook Mahaprasad at Radha Ballav mutt at Puri. There is no truth in the allegations levelled by the BJP,” said BJD spokesperson Ipsita Sahoo.
The SJTA too rejected the allegations made by the BJP. “There is no truth in the allegations that one social media influencer had taken video camera to the premises of Srimandir. We are ready to launch an investigation and take appropriate action if anyone produces any evidence in this regard before us,” said the SJTA in a Twitter post (X).
