Shankracharya Avimukteshwaranand Saraswati: Jagadguru Shankaracharya Avimukteshwaranand Saraswati on Monday (July 15, 2024) claimed a 228 kg gold scam at the Kedarnath temple in Uttarakhand. He has asked why it was not investigated. Last year too, raising the issue of 125 kg gold robbery in the temple, the senior priest had questioned how the gold turned into brass. He had made serious allegations against the Shri Badrinath Kedarnath Temple Committee (BKTC) and the administration for being involved in a scam of Rs 125 crore.
Santosh Trivedi, the senior priest of the temple and the vice president of the Char Dham Mahapanchayat, had alleged that the gold in the sanctum sanctorum has not been tested. He said that a few months ago, the sanctum sanctorum of the temple was covered with gold, but when he went inside, he found that it had been replaced with brass. He questioned why the gold was not tested and who was responsible for this.
A Mumbai businessman had donated gold for the sanctum sanctorum of Kedarnath
Santosh Trivedi alleged, ‘This is a scam of Rs 125 crore in the name of gold in Kedarnath. This is a betrayal of the sentiments of the devotees.’ However, he did not explain how he is estimating the scam of Rs 125 crore. In the year 2022, a Mumbai businessman had donated to replace the silver in the sanctum sanctorum of the temple with gold.
What did BKTCC say on the allegations of Kedarnath priest?
Terming these allegations of the priest as a conspiracy, BKTC had said that this businessman had also donated for gold installation in the sanctum sanctorum of Badrinath temple in the year 2005, but the allegations being made about Kedarnath temple are a well-planned conspiracy. Accusing the involvement of political parties in this, he said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is not taking any action against the government. Narendra Modi And the Yatra is being organized in a systematic manner by Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami, due to which the number of devotees is also increasing and some people do not like this. Because of this, these people are spreading misunderstanding about the Yatra and Kedarnath.
The committee also clarified that the donor businessman was given permission under the provisions of the Badrinath-Kedarnath Temple Committee Act, 1939. The committee said that the donor told that it was his wish for a long time that he should get the sanctum sanctorum of the Kedarnath temple covered with gold. The committee also said that the work of covering the sanctum sanctorum of the Kedarnath temple with gold has been completed under the supervision of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI).
What allegation did Swami Avimukteshwaranand Saraswati make?
Shankaracharya Swami Avimukteshwaranand Saraswati has alleged that 228 kg of gold of Kedarnath temple has been stolen, which has not been investigated till date. He also says that why the issue of gold scam in the temple is not raised. His statement has come in relation to the temple being built in Delhi on the lines of Kedarnath in Uttarakhand. He has objected to the construction of Kedarnath temple in Delhi. He said that after the scam in Uttarakhand, now Kedarnath temple is being built in Delhi.
