Farmers Movement Archive

Akhada Parishad reminds Uttarakhand govt about Nov 30 deadline, then a warning

HARIDWAR: A top body of seers, Akhil Bharatiya Akhada Parishad, on Tuesday threatened to launch an agitation if the Uttarakhand government does not abolish the Char Dham Devasthanam Board by November 30, the deadline agreed to by the Uttarakhand government to resolve the matter ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the state earlier this month.Mahant Ravindra Puri of the Bairagi faction-led Akhada Parishad, the apex decision-making body of the country’s 13 recognised Hindu monastic orders, said once the deadline expires, the seers will not enter into talks with the government on scrapping the Char Dham Board and will launch a pan-India agitation.The top seer also cautioned other state governments against enacting similar laws that seek to manage or acquire management of shrines, temples and muths, or monastic institutions. There is no need to disturb the centuries-old traditional practices where temple priests, committed stakeholders and local devotees manage shrines.“When such a tradition exists for centuries and which has been successful, why are governments trying to fiddle with such practices which affect the interests of priests and temple stakeholders. Uttarakhand government should abolish the Char Dham Devasthanam Management Board and hand the reins back to priests,” Mahant Ravindra Puri said on Tuesday.The seers are opposed to the 2019 law that set up a board to manage the affairs of the four Char Dham shrines, Kedarnath, Badrinath, Gangotri and Yamunotri, and 47 other temples. Former chief minister Trivendra Singh Rawat, who played a key role in enacting the law, was stopped from praying at the shrine in Kedarnath on November 1 by angry priests. He also asked his successor Pushkar Singh Dhami not to back down in face of pressure from the seers, warning that it will create problems for future governments.Pushkar Singh Dhami hasn’t spelt out his stand on the law yet. But after meeting the agitating priests ahead of PM Modi’s November 5 visit to Kedarnath, his cabinet colleague and Uttarakhand government spokesperson Subodh Uniyal said the priests have been assured that the matter related to Char Dham Board will be resolved by the government by November 30.Rajendra Das general secretary of Akhara Parishad and head of Nirmohi Akhara said the concern around government interference and acquiring management of shrines and temples was also discussed at a national convention attended by saints and seers in Delhi Kalika Muth, Kalkaji temple.Das said the Uttarakhand government should follow the example set by the Centre which has decided to repeal the three farm laws in view of the opposition by the governments and scrap the Char Dham Devasthanam Board soon.Doiwala lawmaker and former chief minister Trivendra Singh Rawat said the Char Dham board was formed in the long-term interest of all, and for transparent, better management of Char Dham and associated 47 temples.Congress general secretary Harish Rawat said that just as his party was with farmers opposing the three farm laws, it is also backing the saints and priests against the state government interference in managing the revered Char Dham shrines.A petition filed in the Uttarakhand high court that sought government takeover of the Char Dham temples through the board was dismissed in July last year. The high court ruled ownership of the temple properties will vest with Char Dham shrines and the power of the board will be confined only to the administration and management of the properties.

Hindustan Times

23-11-2021

Dehradun