"Retract your blasphemous comment": TMC slams BJP's Sukunta Majumdar over his comment on Jagannath temple in Digha

Kolkata (West Bengal) [India], June 23 (ANI): The Jagannath Temple in Digha, West Bengal, became the centre of another controversy as the Trinamool Congress slammed Union Minister Sukanta Majumdar over his recent comments on the West Bengal government's administration of the temple.
In a post on X, TMC attached a video of Sukanta Majumdar's conversation with a media channel where he accused West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee of making a "park-like atmosphere" at the Jagannath Temple in Digha.
Strongly condemning the BJP leader's comment on the temple, TMC demanded that Sukanta Majumdar apologise and "retract blasphemous comments."
"If you have even an ounce of shame left, you should apologise and retract your BLASPHEMOUS comments! Calling the sacred Jagannath Dham an "amusement park" is not just an insult to Bengal, it's an insult to every devotee, to our culture, and to the crores of people whose faith is rooted in Lord Jagannath," TMC wrote on X.

.@DrSukantaBJP, if you have even an ounce of shame left, you should apologise and retract your BLASPHEMOUS comments!

Calling the sacred Jagannath Dham an “amusement park” is not just an insult to Bengal, it’s an insult to every devotee, to our culture, and to the crores of… pic.twitter.com/Fpn3l4ZLQF

— All India Trinamool Congress (@AITCofficial) June 23, 2025

"Why does the Jagannath Dham rattle you so much? Is it because this temple symbolises unity, devotion, & Bengal's cultural pride -- values your hate-fuelled, divisive politics can neither comprehend nor tolerate?" they added.
In the video attached by the TMC with the post, Sukanata Majumdar, during a phone conversation with the news channel, accused Mamata Banerjee of making a "park-like atmosphere", adding that the temple is looking more like an "amusement park."
This is not the first time that the recently inaugurated Jagannath Temple in Digha has been at the centre of a controversy. Earlier, many 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.
The Rs 250 crore temple in Digha, constructed over 20 acres, was inaugurated by West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on April 30, 2025. The temple, inspired by the 12th-century Shree Jagannath Temple in Puri, houses the same deities. (ANI)