Bhubaneswar: Following the recent removal of the term ‘dham’ from Digha Jagannath temple, Puri king Gajapati Dibyasingha Deb has urged the Centre to request the West Bengal govt to speak to the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (Iskcon) on the issue of untimely Rath Yatra.With Iskcon’s headquarters located at Mayapur in West Bengal, Deb suggested that the Centre approach the Suvendu Adhikari govt to persuade the organisation to align its Rath Yatra with that of the traditional calendar followed in Puri.“Though we succeeded in persuading Iskcon to observe Rath Yatra in their shrines within India as per tradition linked to the Puri Jagannath Temple, we have failed to stop their celebrations on non‑traditional dates abroad,” Deb told the media in Puri.Deb, who is chairperson of the Puri Jagannath Temple managing committee, added, “Iskcon’s headquarters at Mayapur takes all decisions about their worldwide activities. Since Mayapur is in West Bengal, we are hopeful that the newly formed govt’s intervention may yield positive results. We believe this would be possible only with the support of the Centre.”The Gajapati has once again written to President Droupadi Murmu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, pressing for their intervention. While he had earlier written to Murmu on April 20, and to Modi on Oct 24, 2025, his fresh letters were dispatched on July 4.“Over the last two decades, consistent efforts by the Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (Puri), as well as public statements issued by the Odisha govt, have failed to stop the untimely Snana Yatra and Rath Yatra performed by Iskcon in foreign countries,” the content of his letters to the president and prime minister stated.Appealing for urgent action, Deb wrote, “In the interest of preserving the glorious tradition and heritage of Lord Jagannath, and in deference to the sentiments of countless devotees, I once again urge appropriate steps to stop the performance of untimely Snana Yatra and Rath Yatra being organised by Iskcon in violation of sacred scriptures and tradition.”
