Kalinga Sena warns ISKCON, vows to oppose society's members during Puri Rath Yatra
Puri : Kalinga Sena, a city-based social and political organisation, on Friday warned the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) against holding untimely Rath Yatra of Lord Jagannath by deviating from tradition and culture.
The activists of the Sena, during the day, staged a protest before the ISKCON temple here for rejecting Puri Gajapati Maharaja Dibyasingha Deb's appeal to hold rath yatra across the globe according to scriptures.
The Sena activists led by their president Hemant Rath pledged to ensure that the ISKCON devotees do not enter Puri during the upcoming rath yatra on July 16.
They also issued a threat to ISKCON against holding rath yatra in Bhubaneswar, a regular practice being carried out by the organisation for decades.
The Bhubaneswar branch of ISKCON, however, holds the rath yatra as per the tradition of the Puri temple.
"The ISKCON has no right to stay in Odisha as the organisation has insulted Gajapati Maharaja Dibyasingha Deb, who is considered the first servitor of Lord Jagannath. Our activists will ensure that ISKCON people do not remain present during the rath yatra in Puri and Bhubaneswar," Rath told reporters.
