Reported by Chinmaya Dehury
Bhubaneswar, June 15:
Even as the row over devotees climbing the chariots and touching the deities in Puri refuses to die down, the state BJP has now joined the chorus and said the Odisha government has no right to reject the decision of Puri Shankaracharya, Swami Nishcalanand Saraswati, who has expressed his disappointment over the government ignoring his advice of not allowing devotees to climb the chariots during the Rath Yatra.
Swami Nischalananda Saraswati Swami Nischalananda Saraswati
The Shankaracharya had strictly advised devotees against climbing the chariots of Lord Balabhadra, Lord Jagannath and Devi Subhadra.
“Shankaracharya had taken the decision after taking the opinion of experts and following the scriptures. So, the government, which has been abiding by all his decisions all along, has to follow the advice this time also,” said state BJP vice-president Basant Panda and spokesperson Sameer Mohanty in a press release.
They said rejecting the decision of Nishcalanand Saraswati and the Puri Gajapati Maharaj, the government has dishonored the Odia tribe and the Hindu religion.
It is to be noted that following the advice of Shankaracharya, the state government banned climbing of chariots by devotees on the day of Car Festival and important festivals like Bahuda and Sunabesa. The government, however, was silent with regard to devotees touching idols on deities on chariots on other days.
The government decision has not gone down well with Puri Shankaracharya, who expressed his displeasure over the government aggravating the issue further.
“It was the duty of government and judiciary to expedite implementation of the advice. Instead, my suggestion was weakened, ignored and distorted,” said Shankaracharya in a statement.