Kolkata (West Bengal) [India], June 27 (ANI): Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and West Bengal Assembly Leader of Opposition (LoP) Suvendu Adhikari criticised Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee for visiting the Jagannath temple in Digha, calling it a 'tourist spot' and asserting that Puri in Odisha is the real Dham of Lord Jagannath.

While speaking to ANI, LoP Suvendu Adhikari said, 'It is a tourist spot (Digha Jagannath temple). She (Mamata Banerjee) has gone there for leisure...Puri Dham is the real Dham of Lord Jagannath...'

He further mentioned that lakhs of people are expected to participate in the processions for the Rath Yatra, just as lakhs of people participated in the Ram Navami celebration held in April, which was mired in controversy.

'At least 10,000 big processions of Rath Yatra will be taken out in every corner of West Bengal tomorrow, in which 50 lakh Hindus will participate,' he said.

On Wednesday, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee visited the Jagannath temple in Digha to review preparations for the upcoming Rath Yatra. During her visit, she stated that the temple had become a prominent pilgrimage site.

'Lord Jagannath temple has become a major place of pilgrimage. The Rath Yatra will be held on a 1 km route from 9 am to 4 pm tomorrow. The aarti will be performed at 2.30 pm. Our ministerial team has arrived here for this,' the Chief Minister said.

Announcing that the yatra for the state will start from the Digha temple, the CM said, 'I extend heartfelt greetings and best wishes to everyone in advance for Rath Yatra. I pray that, by the grace of Lord Jagannath, everyone's life may be filled with prosperity. With joy, I announce that we are starting the Rath Yatra at Digha's Jagannath Dham this time as well. Thousands of people from across the country and abroad will participate in it. I, too, will join the people in Digha this time to pull the ropes of the chariot.'

The Rs 250 crore temple in Digha, constructed over 20 acres, was inaugurated by West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on April 30, 2025. The temple, inspired by the 12th-century Shree Jagannath Temple in Puri, houses the same deities.

The Digha temple has been the centre of controversy multiple times, as BJP and BJD leaders, along with spiritual gurus, earlier objected to the naming of the Digha temple as 'Jagannath Dham,' arguing that the term is traditionally reserved for the 12th-century Jagannath Temple in Puri, Odisha.

During the festival, devotees draw the grand chariots of the three deities -- Lord Jagannath, his brother Lord Balabhadra, and sister goddess Subhadra -- to the Gundicha Temple, where the deities reside for a week and then return to the Jagannath Temple. The Rath Yatra ceremony is expected to attract a large crowd, making traffic management a key issue. (ANI)