“Lord Jagannath is bhakt of Modi”: Sambit Patra courts controversy, calls the remark a “slip of tongue”; Opposition lashes out at BJP for insulting the God

Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP) contesting candidate from Puri Lok Sabha constituency, Sambit Patra, has landed himself and the party in the middle of a controversy for what he later clarified was a “slip of tongue”. While speaking to a journalist from Kanak News, Patra said “Lord Jagannath is a devotee of Prime Minister Narendra Modi”. His remarks that had triggered a political storm incidentally came on a day when PM Modi held a road show in poll-bound Puri on Monday. Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik was the first to raise objection and slammed BJP for “insulting” God.

"Mahaprabhu Shree Jagannatha is the Lord of the Universe. Calling Mahaprabhu a 'bhakt' of another human being is an insult to the Lord... it is totally condemnable. This has hurt the sentiments and demeaned the faith of crores of Jagannatha bhaktas and Odias across the world. The Lord is the greatest symbol of Odia asmita. I strongly denounce the statement... and I appeal to the BJP to keep the Lord above any political discourse. By this, you have deeply hurt Odia Asmita and this will be remembered and condemned by people of Odisha for a very long time”, wrote Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on ‘X’ soon after Patra’s clip had gone viral.

Sambit Patra had later clarified while responding to Patnaik that in flow of the conversation, it was a slip of tongue, that what he wanted to mean was PM Modi is an ardent devotee of Lord Jagannath.

“I gave a number of bytes today to multiple media channels after the massive success of Shri Narendra Modiji's road show in Puri today, everywhere I mentioned that Modi ji is an ardent 'bhakt' of Shri Jagannath Mahaprabhu. By mistake during one of the bytes, I said just the opposite... I know you too know and understand this... Sir let's not make an issue out of a nonexistent issue... we all have slip of tongue sometimes”, said Patra in response to Patnaik’s post.

But Sambit Patra’s explanation didn’t cut the ice as opposition leaders unitedly called it an outright insult to the Hindu sentiments.

Here’s how opposition leaders and parties reacted-

Rahul Gandhi, Congress: “When the Prime Minister starts considering himself as an emperor and the courtiers start considering him as God, then it is clear that the downfall of the Lanka of sin is near. Who gave a handful of BJP people the right to hurt the sentiments of crores of people? This ego is becoming the cause of their destruction” 

Arvind Kejriwal, AAP: "I strongly condemn this statement of the BJP. They have started thinking that they are above God. This is the height of arrogance. Calling God bhakt of Modi ji is an insult to God,"

Trinamool Congress: “Blasphemy of the highest order! By dragging Mahaprabhu's name into their petty political discourse just to prop up the Prime Minister's image, BJP has hurt the sentiments of crores of devotees not just in Bengal but worldwide. Their contempt for our collective sense of cultural pride won't be taken lightly! People will not stand for such sacrilege!”

Sambit Patra later offered an apology and promised to observe fast for the next three days to offer penance in the name of Lord Jagannath.​