Union Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Thursday questioned the “silence” of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik over the highly emotive issue of alleged missing keys of the treasure room of Lord Jagannath Temple in Puri.

Pradhan was of the view that the judicial commission ordered by the state government to probe the matter was not the answer. “There have been several commissions in the recent past related to the Puri temple – be it the “brahma bibrat” during the secret ritual of the Lord or the Nabalakebara mess,” he pointed out.

Pradhan said a commission of inquiry was certainly not the answer to “incompetence” and “callousness” of the government, adding that all those responsible and accountable, including Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, owed an answer to the people of the state.

In a significant development over the issue, Puri Gajapati Maharaja Dibya Singh Deo, who is the head of the temple managing committee, said in a written statement to a local television channel that he was “surprised” at the allegations levelled against him.

The Puri Maharaja said at no point in time since 1960, when the Temple Act was enacted by the government, was the key in custody of the Puri Maharaja. “The Puri Maharaja keeps one set of keys, which belongs to the outer room of the ‘Ratna Bhandar’ ( treasure house) and not the inner room,” he said.

It is the chief administrator of the temple appointed by the government and the Puri district collector who were in charge, he added.

With regards to his role as head of the Temple Managing Committee, Dibya Singh Deo said he merely presides over the meeting as his powers are equal to all other members. He said when the matter related to the missing keys to the inner room was discussed on 4 April following the opening of the outer room of Ratna Bhandar, all members of the committee had expressed their surprise. The committee had asked the chief administrator and the district collector to search for the keys, he added.

On 4 April, the inspection team had failed to open the inner room of the treasure house as it did not have the keys.

The Opposition picked up the messing keys issue recently and wondered why no steps had been taken for two months, and doubts were raised on the silence of the government. CM Naveen Patnaik then ordered a probe by a retired judge of the High Court.

The Temple Administration had issued a statement asserting that the valuables were safe as the room had been locked after it was last opened in 1985. The inventory was last done in 1978.