The Nabakalebar has left behind a trail of controversies, including the soul transfer. The servitors have also earned wrath of the people of the state at large. Being the president, what do you have to say?

I am relieved that the yatra passed off peacefully barring a few uncalled for incidents. But the sevayat community should not be blamed for it. Till now, I had kept mum on this issue. I had decided not to speak on this issue till rath yatra was over. But enough is enough. There is a limit to everything. I will disclose it later.

With the temple administration's inquiry going on, it seems that your family members are responsible for the mess created during the soul transfer. Even it has suspended your nephew and one of your brothers? 

Why are you dragging me into all these controversies? No one, including my son, is above law, especially in dealing with the rituals of Lord Jagannath. Let me tell you that my nephew had done nothing wrong. What he had said on that day is that the elder members should enter the temple during Brahma paribartan according to the temple's record of rights. But, the issue was amicably settled. The four badagraghis (servitors) had performed the soul transfer and later the elder members got the opportunity to witness the Brahma, wrapped in a silken cloth. But, one thing I am yet to be certain is that whether only one of the badagrahis did the transfer of souls of all the deities and others just assisted him or four of them did it separately. Only time will tell.

If your nephew did not commit any wrong, why are you silent on this issue? 

Keeping the larger goal of the Lord's rituals, I have not uttered a word on this till now. You are the first person with whom I am sharing my feelings...We are all members of the niyog and will meet shortly and take a decision on this.

There were reports that there had been a major scuffle among servitors. 

These are all fabricated stories. The four badagrahis have also explained it. There was some difference of opinion. Even in 1977 and in 1996, there was infighting among the servitors. But, it was not reported as all members had maintained restraint and the media were not so active that time.

But you should tell us what exactly happened on that day. 

From the banajaga yatra to June 15, everything was fine. When the moment of Brahma paribartan came, according to the record of rights, some senior servitors had wanted to go inside the sanctum sanctorum to see the Brahma. But suddenly, Haladhar Das Mohapatra, the servitor named by the temple administration to transfer the Brahma of Lord Balabhadra opposed it and left the place in a hurry. The other two senior servitors, Jagannath Swain Mohapatra and Rama Chandra Das Mohapatra, supported him and everything turned messy. As they did not turn up, the niyog decided to carry out the soul transfer with the help of other senior servitors. As soon as the news had reached them, they turned up and did their duties. I guarded the temple. The soul transfer had been delayed for a few hours.

In view of the servitors' infighting, there is a view that a committee should be formed with representatives from all sections of society, so that the over-dependence on the daitapatis ends. 

This is a hereditary seva and no one else can do it. If anyone else tries to do it, they will be finished and their next generation will be wiped out. This is not a small thing. You will be surprised to know that to access the Brahma, it takes nearly four hours. It is not a small thing.

We are in the 21st century. None will believe that if one performs a particular seva of Lord Jagannath, he will die.

Earlier, we had seen how people died after performing this seva. Besides, it is a gupta seva and only daitapatis know about it. No one else has any knowledge of it. We will not allow anyone to dilute it.

There is a public wrath against the daiatapatis. Even leaflets and posters appeared in various parts of Puri, accusing you and others of creating the mishap. The three chief servitors also apologised to the people. When will you follow suit? 

Those who had made the mistake apologised before the public. Why should I? I have not committed any mistake. I co-operated with the administration and saw to it that everything went right. Even chief minister Naveen Patnaik has praised my efforts.

There is a public perception that since you are a BJD member, the Puri BJD unit wanted to make Nabakalebar a party affair. What do you say?

I am just an ordinary member of the party. Lord Jagananth is above all parties. He is for the entire universe. I am also proud of being a sevayat of Lord Jagannath first and that is my prime identity. Whoever is in the government tries to see that the Nabakalabar goes off smoothly. In 1996, the Congress government, led by J.B. Patnaik, did the same thing. And now the Naveen Patnaik government is doing it. I want to say that political parties should not try to take mileage out of this issue. The people of Odisha have rejected such attempts.

You are a temple servitor. From where do you get all these gold ornaments to wear? There is a hue and cry in the social media that the income tax department should raid you. 

Why me? Why not Lord Jagannath? We consider Lord Jagannath as our brother. As rath yatra is associated with our brother, we put on new clothes and wear all the gold ornaments. I have inherited the gold ornaments from my ancestors. Some devotees have also donated some of these. Not only me, many of others of my community own gold jewellery. I have also bought some with my own money.

Isn't it true that servitors often take a lot of money from devotees, promising them a good darshan of the Lord? 

This is absolute rubbish. No senior sevayat would do anything of the kind. It is the prerogative of the devotees to give whatever they want to the servitors. They do it out of their love for the Lord. Besides, if devotees don't donate anything, how will the servitors survive? If a devotee feels we fleece them they can lodge a complaint with police or the temple management committee. However, during rath yatra, we take charge of the temple affairs. We 
contribute 20 per cent of what we earn to the Jagannath temple.

You and Jagannath Swain Mohapatra were once best of friends but then fell out. When will you be friends again? 

Not possible now. I have known him for the past 50 years. There are many things, which I would not want to share. But it is possible only if we all shun our egos.

You courted controversy when the director-general of police touched your feet during banajaga yatra. What is your take on that? 

He is a devotee of Lord Jagannath. I am just a sevak of the Lord. In fact, he had touched my feet because of his devotion for the Lord. He has been doing this for the past 11 years.