Pradhan slams Odisha CM on missing Jagannath temple keys

Bhubaneswar (Odisha): Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Monday slammed Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik over the missing 'Ratna Bhandar' keys of the Jagannath temple.Pradhan questioned the Chief Minister's silence on the issue.

"The Chief Minister is the head of the Jagannath temple, his silence is painful for the citizen of Odisha," the Union Minister said.Earlier in June, Patnaik ordered a judicial inquiry into the disappearance of the keys of the 12-century Jagannath Temple's treasury storages that went missing 34 years ago.

The one-man inquiry commission will submit its report after the annual Rath Yatra of Lord Jagannath, which started on July 14.There are a total of seven treasuries within the temple, out of which one remains open at all times.

Around 34 years ago the keys to four treasuries went missing, but only two keys were there with the District Collector.Due to an increase in political pressure, two out of the seven treasuries were opened in April.