Sambalpur: Minister Naba Das offers gold Kalas worth over Rs 1 crore to Shani temple in Maharashtra

By Mahendra Darjee

Bhubaneswar, Jan. 23: Senior Biju Janata Dal (BJD) leader and Odisha health minister Naba Kishore Das has reportedly donated a gold Kalas (holi pitcher) worth over Rs 1 crore to a temple in Maharashtra.

Apart from donating the gold Kalas weighing about 1.7 kg, he offered a 5 kg of silver to the Shani Shingnapur temple in Maharashtra which is one of the famous Shani shrines in the country.

The BJD minister visited the temple and performed ‘Shani Abhishek’ on Saturday. In a video, he was seen performing the ‘Shani Abhishek’ with his family members. However, the reaction of the minister could not be obtained in this regard.

Das, who represents Jharsuguda constituency, happens to be the richest minister in Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik’s Cabinet, with properties of Rs 32 crore, as per the statement of movable and immovable assets of the Council of Ministers released by the State government in September 2022.

In the statement, Das had disclosed that his wife owned 75 vehicles in her name. All the vehicles were commercial ones valued at Rs 15 crore. This apart, the minister owns a Mercedes Benz valued at over Rs 1.14 crore.

The Minister has deposits of over Rs 45.12 lakh in different banks at Sambalpur, Bhubaneswar and Jharsuguda. In addition, he has invested over Rs 77.43 lakh in fixed deposits. His wife also has deposits in different banks amounting to over Rs 1.13 crore and fixed deposits of more than Rs 2.24 crore.