A day before the annual Rath Yatra of Lord Jagannath, Puri Shankaracharya Nischalananda Saraswati on Thursday said the Jagannath temple constructed at Digha, West Bengal, by the Mamata Banerjee government lacked religious sanctity and was driven more by commercial interests than spiritual devotion.
Speaking to reporters in Puri, the Hindu spiritual leader said: “The highest number of devotees visiting Puri come from West Bengal. They occupy most of the hotels, and the local economy of Puri largely revolves around these devotees. Even many traditional priests depend on pilgrims from Bengal.”
