The BJP came out all guns blazing targeting Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, suspecting a major well-planned scandalous recovery of “duplicate” keys to the inner room of Ratna Bhandar (treasure house) of Lord Jagannath temple, Puri late Wednesday night.

On 4 April it was said that keys to the inner room as missing. The CM kept mum over the entire issue despite the fact that it had agitated crores of devotes across Odisha and abroad, said Union Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan while noting that for almost two months everyone was kept in the dark till the minutes of a meeting of the temple managing committee became public.

It is equally mysterious that all on a sudden, after the government had ejected the chief administrator of the temple, IAS officer P K Jena from the post, the ‘duplicate keys’ surfaced in the record room of the government.

The entire development relating to the security and safety of the Ratna Bhandar and the valuables has become murkier since last night when the Puri Collector Arvinda Agarwal said a sealed cover with the lable – duplicate keys to the inner room of Ratna Bhandar were found in the record room, noted Pradhan. It is baffling that the CM who is often quick to make statements on several issues has remained silent on the entire issue till date, he charged.

The Puri collector had earlier said that there was no record of the keys being deposited in the government treasury after 1962. Then how come and where from were the keys made available in 1978 when the Ratna Bhandar was opened and again in 1985. Who brought the keys and from where and where was it deposited, asked Pradhan. Were duplicates made and if so when, he questioned.

Veteran politician Bijay Mahapatra pointed out Puri collector Mr Agarwal was the first to say on 4 April that the keys are missing . He said this after searching the government treasury and other records . After a hue and cry over the emotive issue for almost two months, the collector springs a surprise last night and says “duplicate keys” have been traced. Action should be taken against the collector, said Bijay Mahapatra veteran BJP national executive member.

BJP spokesperson Pitambar Acharya held a press conference to lambast CM Naveen Patnaik over the entire issue.

Where are the original keys, is it a coincidence that the chief administrator of the temple IAS officer Mr P K Jena was removed two days ago, another IAS officer P K Mahapatra was appointed and immediately the “ duplicate keys were found” said Acharya.

It is a conspiracy, alleged Acharya. The keys , as per rules, have to be deposited in the government treasury and unbelievably “duplicate” keys are found in the record room, he remarked. Reacting to the charges, Puri collector Mr Agarwal said he was open to face any probe by any agency.

On the sudden recovery of the keys, Agarwal said “ it is yet another miracle of Lord Jagannath. We had surrendered to him and had prayed to help us as we were being blamed . The Lord heard our prayers”. It may be recalled that on 4 April, on directions of the Orissa High Court , a select team of Archaeological Survey of India, experts, priests, collector , chief administrator and others had entered the outer room of the Ratna Bhandra but had not been able to go to the inner room as the keys were missing.