Bhubaneswar: BJP MPs from Odisha today urged the Union Tourism Minister Prahlad Singh Patel for inclusion of Puri Srimandir and Konark Sun Temple in the list of India’s Iconic Tourist Sites.

In a letter to the Union Minister, all MPs of the saffron party stated that Srimandir and Konark Sun Temple are holiest pilgrimage and attractive tourist destinations due to their religious, cultural and architectural importance. The matchless mix of heritage and spirituality makes the Jagannath temple in Puri and Sun Temple in Konark truly iconic among the country’s greatest tourist attraction places.

“We are in appreciation of your Ministry’s initiative of developing 17 tourism sites across the country under the Iconic Tourist Sites Development Project announced by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. We seek your personal intervention for the inclusion of Lord Jagannath temple in Puri and Konark Sun Temple in the Iconic Tourist Sites Development Project with suitable budgetary provisions for their comprehensive development,” the letter read.

The inclusion of both the temples in the list of Iconic Tourist Sites will be a moment of great pride for the people of Odisha, it added.

The letter was signed by MPs Aparajita Sarangi, Pratap Chandra Sarangi, Nitesh Gangdeb, Sangeeta Singh Deo and Aswini Vaishnab, among others.