President Ram Nath Kovind’s Jagannath temple visit: RTI reply contradicts Times of India’s claim

[dropcap]T[/dropcap]he President Secretariat has confirmed in response to an RTI application that there is no such correspondence, information and knowledge available with the President's Secretariat with regard to the alleged harassment meted out to President of India, Ram Nath Kovind and his wife, on the part of servitors of Puri Jagannath Temple.

RTI application filed on June 28, 2018 with the Central Public Information officer (CPIO) of President Secretariat sought to know the following information:

• • Kindly let me know whether the President Secretariat has taken cognizance of the said incident.

• • Details of action taken in the matter as on date.

• • Certified copies of correspondence made by President Secretariat with the district administration of Puri or for that matter Government of Odisha. Also provide me the certified copy of response, if any, received at President Secretariat from district administration of Puri or for that matter Government of Odisha.

• • Certified copy of correspondence, if any, made with temple  management.

• • Certified copies of file notings generated in the President Secretariat on the above referred issue.

• Let me know whether there has been any correspondence between President Secretariat and government of India on the said issue. If yes, certified copies thereof.    

This reply contradicts the report published by the Times of India on June 27, 2018 wherein it was stated: "On March 19, Rashtrapati Bhavan had sent a strong note of protest against the servitors' conduct to Puri collector Aravind Agarwal. The minutes of the SJTA meeting, also seen by ToI, came to light on Tuesday". This TOI report was carried by many TV and media outlets including The Wire and News18.

President along with his wife Savita Kovind had visited the Puri Jagannath Temple on March 18, 2018 this year. President was accompanied by Union Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, Odisha Revenue Minister Maheswar Mohanty and Puri Collector Aravind Agarwal were present on the occasion.