Missing keys to a treasure trove heat up Odisha poll battle

The Ratna Bhandar houses the precious ornaments of the deities - Lord Jagannath, Lord Balabhadra and Goddess Subhadra - given by devotees and former kings over centuries.

Strange things are known to happen in Indian elections. So, the case of the missing keys to a treasure trove of a highly revered temple in Odisha has become a trigger. And so much so that the Prime Minister referred to it during an election rally in Angul, Odisha.

Even before the local voters could process this information, Puri BJP candidate Sambit Patra had a slip of the tongue moment, which ideally he shouldn’t have had as he is such a glib talker as the BJP national spokesperson.

What Sambit said triggered a backlash from Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik and his ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD). They ripped into Sambit saying what he uttered was defamatory and had hurt the sentiments of the local people.

Two important indicators here: Sambit Patra is a big ticket name from the BJP fold. Patra contested the Puri Lok Sabha seat in the 2019 general election, and lost to sitting BJD member Pinaki Misra by 11,700 votes. He faces a must-win situation to secure his political future. And, secondly, the Puri seat is a prestigious one. The stakes are very high in Puri.

But let’s first understand what PM Modi was referring to before we dissect the verbal slip from Sambit, and any pointers if that would damage his prospects from Puri.

For the people of Odisha, ‘Jagannath’ is ‘Jagata ra natha’, meaning the Lord of this Universe. He is not only their God but also one amongst them, living a life like theirs. For young and the elderly, ‘Jagannath’ is an integral part of their lives.

Modi attacked the ruling BJD government over the missing keys of the Ratna Bhandar (treasure trove). He said the 12th century temple was not safe under BJD rule and the 'Ratna Bhandar' keys have been missing for the last six years.

The Ratna Bhandar houses the precious ornaments of the deities - Lord Jagannath, Lord Balabhadra and Goddess Subhadra - given by devotees and former kings over centuries.

It was last opened on July 14, 1985. Afterwards, in 2018, the Orissa High Court directed the government to open the chamber for physical inspection. However, the keys to the chamber were missing.

What is the Ratna Bhandar ?

The precious ornaments are stored in the Ratna Bhandar of the 12th-century shrine. It is located within the temple with an inner and outer chamber. The outer chamber is opened frequently to fetch ornaments for the deities during Suna Besha (golden attire), a key ritual during the annual Rath Yatra, and during major festivals.

The inner chamber remained shut for 38 years.

The last inventory of the Ratna Bhandar was reportedly done between May 13 and July 23, 1978. Though it was opened again on July 14, 1985, the inventory was not updated.

The Puri Collector is the official custodian of the key to the inner treasure.

Naveen Patnaik ordered a judicial probe into the matter on June 4, 2018. Puri Collector then said an envelope with “duplicate keys of inner Ratna Bhandar” written on it had been found in the record room of the Collectorate.

Milking the moment,  Modi questioned why the duplicate keys were made and if someone was opening the Ratna Bhandar with the duplicate key. Could the precious jewels of the deities been stolen using these duplicate keys?

Completing the flanking attack, Home Minister Amit Shah said the probe report on Ratna Bhandar would be made public within 6 days of the BJP coming to power in the state. He has also promised to make the full inventory of the ornaments public.

It is clear as daylight that this “treasure issue” has serious political ramifications. No wonder the PM, HM and a CM are involved in this slugfest.

The slugfest between the political rivals led to bared fangs after the BJP and BJD failed to secure a pre-poll alliance in Odisha. In fact, the BJP and BJD had ruled Odisha in an alliance for nine years before ending their partnership in 2009.

BJD’s insistence on not letting BJP in for power sharing. And BJP wanting to contest more assembly seats which Naveen was not in favour of was a deal-breaker.

PM Modi, who had so far avoided criticising the BJD government, has now sharpened the attack. When he spoke of how "Odia asmita (Odia pride)" and Odia language were in danger, it was interpreted as a direct attack on Naveen.

Now let’s move on to Sambit Patra and his verbal gaffe.

While speaking about Odisha's culture, Sambit said that “Lord Jagannath is a devotee of PM Modi". His remarks drew a sharp reaction from Opposition parties.

Grabbing this opening, Naveen thundered that Sambit had insulted Lord Jagannath and the remark demeaned the faith of crores of people.

Sambit, more prone to launching verbal counter-attacks, had to put on his best defense.

"Let’s not make an issue out of a non-existent issue ..we all have slip of tongue sometimes," he said. And later announced he would go on a fast for 3 days as penance.

In a way, Sambit is right. It was a slip but a bad one and at the worst time. Even as reports are coming in of Sambit set to win Puri comfortably, would this be a setback?

The BJD and Cong won’t let go so easily. The relentless drum-beating is on.

One must admit this story has all the ingredients of a thriller: Temple, treasure, lost keys, and a bad verbal faux pas. Indiana Jones would be bouncing off the walls.