BHUBANESWAR: Parking of Shree Jagannath temple fund in Yes Bank rocked the Assembly on Wednesday forcing Speaker Surjya Narayana Patro to adjourn the House for the day without transacting any business.

After obituary reference to three former members of the Assembly, Congress members trooped into the well of the House raising ‘Jai Jagannath’ slogan and sought an explanation from the Government over transfer of Rs 592 crore funds temple fund from a nationalised bank to Yes Bank.

The Congress members created rucks in the House even as opposition BJP gave an adjournment notice on the issue to the Speaker which was scheduled for discussion.

The BJP members supported Congress from their seats.

They also sought a statement from Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik and a high-level probe into the circumstances leading to the transfer of such a huge deposit from nationalised bank to crisis ridden private bank.

Terming the Speaker’s move to adjourn the House for the day as preplanned, deputy leader of the BJP in the Assembly Bishnu Sethi told reporters outside the Assembly that it was an understanding between BJD and Congress not to allow a discussion on the topic.

He alleged a kickback of Rs 3 crore involved in the deposit of Lord Jagannath’s funds in Yes Bank.

Unable to run the House, the Speaker adjourned the House repeatedly and finally for the day as the opposition members refused to budge.

He, however, said he will allow a discussion on the issue on Thursday. Leader of Opposition said the BJD government violated the provisions of Shree Jagannath Temple Act (SJTA) by depositing the Lord’s money in a private bank.

Responding to queries from reporters, Naik said, “We demand strong action against the officers responsible for transfer of the shrine money to a private bank violating the temple rules and regulations.”

Targeting the Chief Minister, CLP leader Narasingh Mishra said the former owed an explanation as he was the chairman of Shree Jagannath Temple Foundation Fund. It is not possible for the temple administration to transfer the fund without the knowledge of the Chief Minister.

Huge kickback involved: Saluja

Congress on Wednesday alleged that there has been a huge kickback in the deposit of Shree Jagannath Temple Fund in crisis-ridden Yes Bank.

Deputy leader of Congress Legislature Party Santosh Singh Saluja alleged that though it was known that the bank was on the verge of collapse, a huge amount of Rs 592 was deposited in it violating all rules.

Targeting the Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik over the issue, he said the Government should clarify who gave the permission for depositing such a huge amount in a private bank. Referring to a directive issued by former Chief Minister JB Patnaik in 1983 that the temple fund should be deposited only in a national bank, the Congress MLA criticised Law Minister Pratap Jena for his statement that there will be no problem in the release of funds from the bank.