Bhubaneswar, April 23: The state unit of the Congress today claimed that the Kohinoor diamond, now part of the British crown jewels, legitimately belonged to the 12th century Jagannath temple in Puri.

Maharaja Ranjit Singh of Punjab, during his last days, had wanted the diamond "to be sent to the temple of Jagannath", according to a letter sent by the political agent and commissioner to Peshawar to T.A. Maddock, officiating secretary to the Government of India. The communiqué, dated July 2, 1839, has been preserved at the National Archives in New Delhi, as the document entitled - "secret consultation 4 dec.no. 78-80".

Pradesh Congress Committee president Prasad Harichandan, who has obtained a copy of the letter from the National Archives, said: "We are disappointed with the Union government's affidavit in the Supreme Court that the diamond should not be viewed as a stolen item and the British had received it as a gift. The last wish of a person should be honoured and India must make efforts to get back the jewel and offer it to the Jagannath temple."

The matter is pending in the Supreme Court and the Union government was asked on April 18 to submit a fresh reply within six weeks.

Harichandan quoted historians saying that the British had "forced" Sikh ruler Duleep Singh, successors of Ranjit Singh to part with the Kohinoor in Lahore in 1849. He did not agree with the solicitor-general Ranjit Kumar's stance in the Supreme Court on April 18: "The Kohinoor was given by the successors of Maharaja Ranjit Singh of Punjab to the East India Company in 1849 as compensation for helping them in the Sikh wars."

The letter from the political agent and commissioner to Peshawar on July 2, 1839 to the officiating secretary to the Government of India with the Right Honourable the Governor General was written soon after the death of the Maharaja Ranjit Singh. The 11 paragraph communication narrates the scenario pertaining to state of politics and succession.

The last two paragraphs of the letter said: "Five of the Majaraja's ranis are it is said to become satis at his funeral pyre and among them is mentioned the surviving daughter of the late Raja Sansar Chand Kaloch."

In the last paragraph mentioning his wish of gifting the jewel to be offered to Lord Jagannath, the letter said: "During the last few days of his illness Highness is declared to have to been bestowed in charity many jewels and others prosperity to the supposed value of fifty lakhs of rupees during his jewels be directed the well known Cohinur diamond to be sent to the temple of Jagannath and observed that no one carried away with him his worldly wealth and that such a request would perpetuate his name."

In another development, Jagannath Sena, an outfit working on protection of the Jagannath culture, today threatened to launch an agitation demanding immediate return of the diamond to Odisha. "We will sit on a dharna in front of the Jagannath temple tomorrow, urging both Prime Minister Narendra Modi and chief minister Naveen Patnaik to initiate steps for return of the jewel to the shrine. The last wishes of a person should be honoured. It is meant for Lord Jagannath, and we will fight till it reaches to the temple," said sena convener Priyadarshan Patnaik.