Das enters ‘jinxed’ house from east gate

Ranchi: Raghubar Das, who is known among party workers as a believer of karma, on Friday moved into the chief minister’s official bungalow, albeit from the backdoor to avoid the evil eye.
Das — who preferred to enter from the eastern gate that was constructed during Arjun Munda’s tenure as per vastu guidelines — performed rituals advised by priests to ward off evil. However, when asked whether he was concerned about the “jinx” tag to the CM’s house, Das said, “I am a karmayogi and believe in disposing my duties honestly leaving the rest to God.”
“According to the shashtra, Raja should always enter from the east-facing gate and we have tried to follow the same here,” said Krishna Pandey, one of the priests present at the housewarming ceremony.Pandey added that the red colour of the gate and the temple on the premises also have significance.
Following the priests’ advice, Das and his wife went to Tirupati Balaji temple on Ratu Road to offer prayers before entering the house. “Everyone is welcome in our house and I hope that he (Das) carries out his duties honestly and efficiently,” Das’s wife Rukmani Devi said.
The couple also offered prayers to Lord Ganesha and visited Sankatmochan temple on the premises of the CM house.
“Priests have advised the CM to walk up to the Sankatmochan temple everyday and board a vehicle only after bowing before the lord,” said one of the caretakers reminding that Munda too followed the guidelines.
The bungalow is discredited to be ‘jinxed’ as none of Das’s four predecessors completed their terms in office. Hemant Soren was the only chief minister to complete his term in office (14 months till the time of the third Jharkhand assembly was complete) and he chose not to move into the bungalow.