Nabanna (West Bengal) [India], June 9 (ANI): West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday assured that the word “Dham” will be removed from the newly constructed Jagannath Temple in Digha, bringing an end to the controversy surrounding its naming after “Jagannath Dham” in Puri.
The assurance came after Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi wrote to the West Bengal government objecting to the use of the term “Dham,” a letter which was handed over to West Bengal Minister Suvendu Adhikari by Puri MP Sambit Patra.
Adhikari, addressing the press conference with Odisha CM and Puri MP Sambit Patra, said that he also feels that the previous Trinamool Congress “disregarded people’s sentiment” over the naming of the temple. He added that the Jagannath Temple in Digha will continue to follow the same practices of worship.
“I am accepting this letter. When I visited ISKCON, I discussed the temple in Digha. Let me state clearly that the then-government had approved it as a cultural centre. We will remove the word ‘Dham’. The cultural centre complex will remain, and worship will continue. The entire complex will function as a temple, but the word ‘Dham’ will be dropped. I, too, felt that the previous government had disregarded people’s sentiments,” he said.
Later, speaking to reporters, Sambit Patra said that the people of Odisha had no objection to the development or promotion of Jagannath temples, but objected specifically to the use of the term “Dham”.
“You are aware of how, in April 2025, the then-Bengal government established and inaugurated a Jagannath Temple in Digha, naming it ‘Jagannath Dham’. We have no objection to the promotion or expansion of Jagannath temples…Even at that time, our Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi and all of us criticised the use of the name ‘Dham,’ he said.
Sambit Patra expressed his gratitude to West Bengal CM for removing the word ‘Dham’ from the Jagannath temple in Digha.
“Today, I arrived at Nabanna as an emissary, carrying a letter from the Chief Minister. I handed over the letter from the Chief Minister to Suvendu Adhikari, and subsequently, a decision was made today to remove the word ‘Dham’. It will be known as ‘Jagannath Temple’. I would like to express my gratitude to Chief Minister Suvendu ji; this is significant for crores of Odia people, for Puri, for Odisha, and for the followers of Sanatan Dharma across India,” he said.
The Rs 250 crore Jagannath Temple in Digha, built over 20 acres, was inaugurated by 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 quickly became the centre of controversy multiple times, as BJP and BJD leaders, along with spiritual gurus, 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. (ANI)
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