Odisha Rath Yatra row: Jual Oram meets Puri seer, persuades him to visit chariots

Odisha Sun Times Bureau

Puri, June 29:

Soon after the Union Petroleum minister Dharmendra Pradhan’s meeting with the Puri Shankaracharya, senior BJP leader and Union Tribal Affairs minister Jual Oram also met with the seer at the Gobardhan Peeth here and persuaded him not to boycott the customary rituals under which he visits the deities atop the chariots on the day of the Rath Yatra .

“The letter of the Sri Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA)  has deeply hurt the Shankaracharya. I have, however, requested him to mount the chariots and perform his part in the festival”, Oram told reporters after the meeting.

The Union minister also said that the state government should not interfere in religious affairs or do anything to diminish the religious authority of the top Hindu seer.