West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari on Tuesday said that the state government will drop the word ‘Dham’ from the Jagannath temple complex built by the Mamata Banerjee government in Digha in East Midnapore district, on the request of Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi.
Built on the architectural lines of the famous 12th-century Jagannath Temple in Puri, the coastal temple complex was a flagship project of the previous Trinamool Congress (TMC) government, which inaugurated it in April 2025.
“A request has come from Mohan Charan Majhi, Chief Minister of Odisha. I have accepted the letter sent by him through Sambit Patra, Member of Parliament for Puri. I have held discussions with the authorities of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON). The word ‘dham’, which has been tagged with the Digha temple complex, is not compatible with the Sanatan culture. The previous government built it as a cultural center and added the word ‘dham’ to it. We will drop the word soon,” Adhikari told reporters.
Naming the shrine was a major cause of disagreement between the previous TMC government in West Bengal and the BJP-led government in Odisha, which houses the original Jagannath Dham shrine in Puri – one of the four sacred dams in Hinduism.
In May 2025, Prime Minister Majhi wrote to Banerjee urging her to refrain from using the designation for Degas’ shrine.
“The puja of the holy trinity of Lord Jananath and his brothers, which takes place at the Digha temple complex, will continue to follow the Sanatan culture and traditions. The complex will be known as a cultural centre,” Adhikari said. The word “Dham” will be dropped.
Puri MP Sambit Patra, who was present with Adhikari at the Secretariat, said the previous government’s choice had hurt religious sentiments.
“The Jagannath Dham at Puri is one of the original four dhams created by Adi Shankaracharya. Calling the new replica at the Digha a ‘dham’ has pained millions of devotees across the world,” Patra said. Prime Minister Maghi raised this issue once again and we are grateful that Prime Minister Adhikari assured swift action.”
The massive state-funded shrine has faced multiple political and logistical controversies since its construction.
Days before its inauguration last year, Adhikari – who was the then Leader of the Opposition – wrote an open letter to the state chief secretary demanding clarification on whether the publicly funded structure was a registered religious temple or a cultural centre.
Later, allegations emerged that sacred neem wood (daro), which was traditionally kept in the Puri temple for ritual re-deification of idols, had been illegally purchased for Digha’s shrine. But subsequent investigation refuted these allegations.
