New poster boy of ‘Hindutva’, Uttarakhand CM Dhami finds himself in a  controversy on Kedarnath Dham

New poster boy of ‘Hindutva’, Uttarakhand CM Dhami finds himself in a  controversy on Kedarnath Dham

S.M.A.KAZMI

Dehradun , July 16

Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami, the new poster boy of ‘Hindutva’ finds himself in a bitter controversy that too on the issue of Kedarnath Dham, one of the most revered Hindu religious places located in Garhwal Himalayas. After losing Ayodhaya Lok Sabha seat and then Badrinath assembly bye-elections in quick succession, both the places associated with Hindu religion, the controversy on Kedarnath Dham for Uttarakhand ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami could not have been at a worst time. The issue erupted a day after Kedarnath BJP legislator Shaila Rani Rawat passed away necessitating a bye-election.

The controversy started when Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami presided over a function over the foundation stone laying ceremony of a temple in Burari area of Delhi symbolically named Kedarnath Dham. The news which was shared by Chief Minister himself  on his social media by not taken to kindly by the priest community of Kedarnath shrine who staged a dharna outside the shrine.

Brijesh Sati, general secretary of the Uttarakhand Char Dham Teerth Purohit Maha Panchayat,  alleged that the use of the name of Kedarnath, one of the most revered shrine of Sanatan Dharma  for monetary gains amounts to grave sacrilege. He said that there is no issue in constructing Shiva temples but replicating Kedarnath should not be allowed. The priests demanded that such a project should be shelved and threatened to intensify the agitation at all the fours Dhams of  Kedarnath, Badrinath, Gangotri and Yamunotri in Uttarakhand.

The priests feared that a sizeable amount of money coming to the Kedarnath shrine dedicated to Lord Shiva would be diverted to Delhi temple and alleged that funds are already being collected under the QR code similar to Kedarnath shrine. The priests held a meeting with civil officials at Ukhimath In Rudrprayag district on Monday and strongly opposed any move to set up a replica of Kedarnath Dham anywhere else.

The statement by Shankaracharya  Avimukteshwaranand Saraswati who is head of JyotirMath situated in Joshimath area of Chamoli district charging present regime of alleged theft of 228 kilos of gold from Kedarnath temple further ignited the matter. He said that it was criminal act to replicate Kedarnath Dham  which was located by Adi Shankaracharya.

After the controversy erupted, BJP tried to argue that a similar temple of Badrinath was inaugurated by former Congress Chief Minister Harish Rawat in Mumbai during his tenure but it did not cut much ice. Finding himself caught in the controversy that too on the issue of one of the most revered Hindu religious places, Chief Minister Dhami was on the back foot clarifying that Kedarnath Dham is not being replicated.   “Jyotirling ka sthaan ek hee hai….. mandir anek sthaano par bane hai (a Jyotirlinga cannot be replicated…..temples can be built at other place),” he said.

Uttarakhand Congress has hit back at the Uttarakhand BJP government over the issue. Suryakant Dhasmana, vice-president of Uttarkhand Pradesh congress Committee said that BJP after losing Ayodhaya and Badrinath have not learnt any lessons and trying to bulldoze the age old Hindu traditions. He said that any attempt to replicate Kedarnath dham which is one of the 12 ‘Jotirlinga Dhams’ of ‘Sanatan Hindus’ would not be tolerated. He said that people associated with BJP are part of the trust constructing the Kedarnath Dham temple in Delhi clearly indicating the involvement of BJP.

Ajendra Ajay, Chairman of Badrinath Kedarnath Temple Committee (BKTC) has to clarify that legal action would taken against anyone misusing the name or photos of Kedarnath-Badrinath shrines. He further said that there could not be a replica of Kedarnath dham.

Surendra Rautela, President of Kedarnath Dham Trust, Burari clarified that the Uttarakhand government has nothing to do with the construction of the shrine in Delhi.  “The mandir of Kedarnath Dham is only a mandir and not a dham. The Uttarakhand government has nothing to do with it. Pushkar Singh Dhami on our request had attended the foundation stone-laying. On our personal invitation he had attended it and it has nothing to do with the government,” he told media persons.

“Badrinath Dham is there in Bombay and its inauguration was done by former CM Harish Rawat. Vaishno Devi mandirs and Sai baba Mandisrs are also there across the country. This is a political stunt and nothing else,” Rautela said, alleging that the issue was being politicised by a few leaders