Prime Minister Narendra Modi, addressing a rally in Angul, Odisha, raised concerns over the missing keys of the Ratna Bhandar, the treasure house of the Puri Jagannath Temple. The keys have reportedly been missing for six years, an issue that Modi emphasized in his speech, suggesting it symbolizes a larger issue of transparency and governance in the state.
“When keys of our own houses are not found, we pray to Lord Jagannath and seek his blessings to find the keys… But keys of the Ratna Bhandar have been missing for six years,” Modi remarked.
“All of Odisha wants to know about the findings of the inquiry committee report on the missing keys of the Ratna Bhandar, but the BJD has suppressed it. BJD’s silence is further deepening people’s doubt on the issue,” he added.
Later, at a rally in Cuttack, Modi hinted at rumors about the key’s whereabouts. “People say that the key of Shri Ratna Bhandar has gone to Tamil Nadu. Who sent it to Tamil Nadu?” he questioned, an apparent indirect reference to V. K. Pandian, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik’s close aide, who hails from Tamil Nadu.
The remarks have ignited a political firestorm. Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin reacted sharply to Modi’s comments, accusing him of maligning Tamilians. MK Stalin tweeted, “After the elections in Tamil Nadu, PM Modi dismantled his role as a ‘Tamilian’. He has falsely accused Tamils like thieves stealing the property of Puri Jagannath temple in Odisha. Is it beautiful for a Prime Minister to abuse Tamils in the North with malice and incite enmity between states? The Hon’ble Prime Minister should stop behaving so lowly day by day, forgetting the dignity of his responsibility for the sake of votes!”
In response, Tamil Nadu BJP President K. Annamalai released a video statement defending Modi and criticizing Stalin. Annamalai stated, “The CM of Tamil Nadu Thiru MK Stalin’s full time job is to lie, if you see the amount of lies he had peddled after becoming the CM, if you list them out you cannot fill them in pages, another lie he spread today was about the speech of PM Modi in Odisha regarding Tamil people. the CM doesn’t read things properly, somebody wrote notes for him, and he asked somebody to post it on twitter. This video in particular is for MK Stalin so that he should know the truth, only then his advisors will get to know the truth to post it on Twitter. CM MK Stalin must understand something the basis of politics is that the PM of India must be someone who belongs and is born in India. The CM of TN should be a Tamilian. He/she must be from TN and must know the culture, traditions and civilizational values of the people.”
He further added “This applies to Karnataka and Telangana as well. The issue in Odisha today is that the BJD has overturned the concept of son of the soil, Naveen Patnaik is ruling the state for 25 years . VK Pandian, a Tamilian has been his private secretary for 12 years. He belongs to the Punjab IAS cadre. He married a woman from Odisha and shifted to the Odisha cadre. He was the private secretary of Naveen Patnaik. After which he resigned his job to become BJD’s campaign strategist. People following Odisha politics know that nobody can meet Naveen Patnaik, be it Chief secretary or the DGP. It has to be VK Pandian. Even if it is a minister VK Pandian is the one who approves. Naveen Patnaik’s public speeches also are prepared by VK Pandian. Should a person not related to Odisha decide the politics of Odisha? Will MK Stalin call a non Tamilian IAS officer who joins DMK as the face of DMK? But Naveen Patnaik has endorsed this, isn’t it wrong?”
He further went on to say “Tamils are respected everywhere. Tamils must reach heights everywhere but we must understand the political dynamics of the respective states. PM Modi commented that the key to the treasury of the Puri Jagannath temple is lost and someone has deliberately hidden it. VK Pandian has been the secretary to the CM for 12 years. So now, where did the key go? A committee has also been formed. We have promised that if BJP comes to power in Odisha the key will be retrived and Lord Jagannath’s respect will be restored. Who has the control over the key? Technically the CM of Odisha is VK Pandian. Where the key has gone? To whom has the key has been given? MK Stalin must understand. He must know what is happening in India beyond the four walls of his room. Will DMK announce a person who will join the DMK from another state as the CM candidate of TN? Here we talk about the son of the soil, the same applies to Odisha people as well. In TN we talk about son of the soil. Does it not apply to Odisha? How can this be wrong if PM Modi addresses this issue in Odisha?”
Adding further he said “The person who controls it from some other state . BJD is promoting an outsider without respecting the people of Odisha and its culture. what is wrong when the PM says that we will make a person of Odisha the CM? MK Stalin must talk after understanding things, PM Modi has immense respect and love for the people of TN. That doesn’t mean that Tamils must be made the CMs of all sates of India. You and I will be happy if a Tamilian becomes the PM of India someday. It is not mandatory that a PM must belong to a particular state. however, in state politics when priority is given to people belonging to the respective states. How could Naveen Patnaik allow such a thing in Odisha? This is the political issue today in Odisha. CM Stalin must stop spreading lies. We know you have no political avenue outside Gummudipoondi. Your allegation against PM Modi is highly condemnable. It is not an attribute of healthy politics. It is our duty to bust the lies of MK Stalin to the people of TN through this post.”
Annamalai tweeted, “It is unfortunate that TN CM Thiru MK Stalin, who lives in a silo surrounded by cheerleaders keeping him distant from happenings inside TN & beyond, talks about matters without understanding the context of what was spoken by our Hon PM Thiru Narendra Modi during his campaign in Odisha. We wish Thiru CM MK Stalin be reminded that dividing people in the name of region, religion, language & caste has been his party’s domain expertise that we are determined to stay away from.”
It is unfortunate that TN CM Thiru @mkstalin, who lives in a silo surrounded by cheerleaders keeping him distant from happenings inside TN & beyond, talks about matters without understanding the context of what was spoken by our Hon PM Thiru @narendramodi avl during his campaign… https://t.co/5grciVq4Bf pic.twitter.com/M6ylvwJOVn
— K.Annamalai (மோடியின் குடும்பம்) (@annamalai_k) May 21, 2024
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