Jul 15, 2024 04:02 PM IST
Priests at the Kedarnath temple in Uttarakhand protested against the Delhi project, fearing it would diminish the religious sanctity of the original shrine.
A controversy has erupted over laying the foundation stone for another Kedarnath temple in New Delhi.
Swami Avimukteshwaranand, Shankaracharya of Jyotirmath, raised a strong objection to building a Kedarnath temple in the national capital and raked up the allegations of scam in the gold laying work inside the sanctum sanctorum of Kedarnath temple.
“There is a gold scam in Kedarnath, why is that issue not raised? After doing a scam there, now Kedarnath will be built in Delhi? And then there will be another scam,” Swami Avimukteshwaranand told reporters.
A senior priest of the Kedarnath temple last year alleged a scam up to the tune of ₹125 crore in the gold layering work of Kedarnath temple, claiming that the laying was of brass instead of gold, a charge denied by the temple committee.
“228kgs of gold is missing from Kedarnath… No inquiry has started. Who is responsible for this? Now they are saying they will build a Kedarnath in Delhi, this cannot happen,” the Shankaracharya said.
Uttarakhand chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami participated in a bhoomi pujan (consecration ceremony) on Wednesday in the Hiranki neighbourhood near Burari in northwest Delhi, laying the foundation stone for the new Kedarnath temple.
Read: Char Dham Yatra: Uttarakhand govt bans VIP darshan; curbs video shooting
On Sunday, priests at the Kedarnath temple in Rudraprayag district staged a protest in front of the shrine. They gathered under the banner of Kedar Sabha, along with various other associations, and raised slogans against the Uttarakhand state government and the chief minister.
Pankaj Shukla, the spokesperson of the Kedar Sabha, clarified their stance, saying, “We are not against a temple being constructed, but are opposing the construction of Kedarnath temple by a religious trust in Delhi, which as claimed will have the same form. A stone from the Kedarnath shrine area will also be shifted, thus reducing the religious sanctity of the Kedarnath shrine in Rudraprayag district.”
Adding to the dissent, Pradeep Shukla, another Kedar Sabha member, alleged, “The proposed construction of Kedarnath temple using the same name and form in Burari in Delhi by a trust is nothing but a conspiracy to reduce the religious sanctity of the shrine in Uttarakhand and earn money from the devotees. If this trend continues, soon the temple of Baba Amarnath (in Kashmir) will also crop up in Delhi in the name of disaster and security, which will be the most unfortunate day for Sanatana Dharma.”
The Kedar Sabha is also concerned about the distribution of charana amrit (sanctified water) from Kedarnath Dham in Delhi, which they claim violates religious guidelines.
Surinder Rautela, president of the Kedarnath Dham Trust in Delhi, defended the project.
“The temple to be built in Delhi is being constructed by the trust (Shri Kedarnath Dham Trust, Delhi) and it has nothing to do with the Uttarakhand government. The temple is built with the support of trustees and many of them belong to Uttarakhand.”
He said, “Many temples have already been built in the name of famous Dhams in different cities of the country, whether it is Kedarnath Temple in Indore or Badrinath Temple in Mumbai. These temples were also inaugurated by the former CM of Uttarakhand, Harish Rawat.”
Kedarnath is among the four Hindu sacred shines of the Char Dham that also includes Badrinath, Gangotri and Yumonotri, which attracts millions of Hindu pilgrims between the months of May and October.
