‘Modi not our enemy’: Jyotirmath Shankaracharya opposes Delhi Kedarnath plan, says Uddhav Thackeray ‘Vishwasghat’ victim

Shankaracharya of Jyotirmath Swami Avimukteshwaranand on Monday, July 15, vehemently opposed the Kedarnath Temple being built in Delhi, the national capital. The Shankaracharya of Jyotirmath was in Maharashtra’s capital city, Mumbai, to attend the ‘Shubh Ashirvaad’ ceremony of Asia’s richest person, Mukesh Ambani’s youngest son Anant Ambani and his wife Radhika Merchant.

In Mumbai, Swami Avimukteshwaranand visited ‘Matoshree’, the residence of Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Uddhav Thackeray. The ascetic also blessed Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the Ambani ceremony.

“Yes, PM Modi came to me and did a ‘Pranaam’. It is our rule that we will bless whoever comes to us. Narendra Modi ji is not our enemy. We are his well-wishers and always speak for his welfare. If he makes a mistake, we also point that out to them…” the ascetic informed.

However, Swami Avimukteshwaranand interacted with the media after many engagements in Mumbai and made incriminating remarks on the political scenario, especially in Maharashtra.

Let’s take a look at what Swami Avimukteshwaranand said.

On Uddhav Thackeray

Swami Avimukteshwaranand said ‘Vishwasghat’ (betrayal) had happened with former Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray. Swami Avimukteshwaranand visited Uddhav Thackeray’s residence ‘Matoshree’ at the latter’s request.

After visiting the Thackeray residence, Swami Avimukteshwaranand alleged, “We follow the Hindu religion. We believe in ‘Punya’ and ‘Paap’. ‘Vishwasghat’ is said to be one of the biggest sins, same has happened to Uddhav Thackeray.”

“He welcomed, and we said that we were pained over the betrayal done to him. Our pain will not go till he again becomes CM,” Swami Avimukteshwaranand added.

Uddhav Thackeray had to resign as the chief minister of Maharashtra on June 30, 2022, after Eknath Shinde rebelled, walking out with a majority of the Shiv Sena MLAs with him. Shinde is now the CM of Maharashtra. Shinde formed the government in alliance with Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Devendra Fadnavis.

However, the Mahayuti Alliance of Shinde Sena, Fadnavis, and Ajit Pawar faced a defeat in the recently concluded Lok Sabha polls, giving the much-needed impetus to Uddhav Thackeray and Sharad Pawar’s Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) ahead of the Maharashtra Assembly elections.

On Kedarnath

Swami Avimukteshwaranand opposed the Kedarnath temple that was being built in Delhi. On July 10, Uttarakhand Chief Minister and BJP leader Pushkar Singh Dhami participated in a bhoomi puja (consecrating holy ground) at a ceremony held in the Hiranki neighbourhood near Burari in northwest Delhi and laid the foundation stone for a new Kedarnath temple to be built at the location.

Swami Avimukteshwaranand flagged the ‘gold scam’ in Kedarnath. He alleged that ‘228kgs of gold is missing from Kedarnath’. The ascetic sought an inquiry into the matter and also inquired as to why nobody was raising the issue.

“Kedarnath Temple cannot be made in Delhi. There are 12 defined Jyotirlinga. Its location is fixed. It is wrong. There was a scam of 228 kg of gold in Kedarnath. Nobody is bothered about it,” Swami Avimukteshwaranand said.

“After doing a scam there, will Kedarnath be built in Delhi? And then there will be another scam,” the Swami added.

Kedarnath is among the four Hindu sacred shrines of the Char Dham, which also includes Badrinath, Gangotri, and Yamonotri.