Bhubaneswar: Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi on Tuesday said ‘dhams’ are set up on the basis of religious faith of people and not on the arrogance or ego of any person or government. Majhi was replying to a question here on the fate of his letter to West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on the row over naming a temple at Digha as ‘Jagannath Dham’.

Without taking Banerjee’s name, Majhi said, “As dhams were established hundreds of years ago based on the faith of people, it cannot be changed by any person or a government. Adi Shankaracharya had set up four ‘dhams’ for Hindus and Puri’s Jagannath Dham is one of them.”

“Yes, I had written a letter (requesting Banerjee to refrain from referring the Jagannath temple in Digha as ‘dham’) to the West Bengal Chief Minister. But she has not given a reply, but issued a statement which is not acceptable. The matter, which is based on the faith of millions of people, should be respected,” Majhi said.

He said Adi Shankaracharya had established four ‘dhams’ in different regions of India on the religious point of view for the protection of the Hindu religion. “Her (Banerjee) statement reflects arrogance and ego. People will give a befitting reply to the person,” Majhi said. Majhi, however, did not give any indication of the Odisha government taking legal recourse over the ‘Jagannath Dham’ row. Earlier, Law Minister Prithiviraj Harichandan had said that the Odisha government may be forced to take the matter to court if Banerjee did not withdraw the word ‘dham’ from the Digha Jagannath Temple.