Union Finance Minister Sitharaman offers prayers in Puri's Jagannath temple

 Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday visited Jagannath temple and offered prayers to sibling deities in 12th century shrine here. Accompanied by Union Education Minister Dharmendra Prhan, BJP national spokesperson Sambit Patra, local MLAs — Jayanta Sarangi and Lalitendu Bidyhar Mohapatra —, Sitharaman spent more than 30 minutes inside temple.

FM also visited a sand art session on ‘Meri Maati, Mera Desh' by sand artist Sudarshan Pattnaik. Sitharaman and Prhan also attended a plantation drive in Puri and visited birthplace of freedom fighter Saheed Jayee Rajguru. After returning to Bhubaneswar, Sitharaman and Prhan will take part in a book launch and join inauguration ceremony of 20th National CA Conference. Sitharaman arrived in Bhubaneswar on a two-day visit to Odisha on Wednesday night.