Dehradun, Jul 18 (PTI) Uttarakhand Congress will stage a padyatra from July 24 in protest against the proposed construction of a replica of the Kedarnath temple in Delhi. The Kedarnath Bachao Padyatra will start from Haridwar on July 24 and conclude at Kedarnath Dham, Uttarakhand Congress president Karan Mahara said. “We will embark on the yatra after taking a bath in the Ganga at Har Ki Pauri in Haridwar. The yatra is expected to reach Kedarnath Dham in 14-16 days passing through various areas of Garhwal,” Mahara said.
Kedarnath temple is in Uttarakhand and its recreation anywhere else will be opposed, he added.
Meanwhile, senior party leader Harish Rawat said that he would also join the padyatra in Rishikesh and Agastyamuni.
“I will also participate in the yatra in Rishikesh and Agastyamuni. The fight to save the honour of the Dham and the most respected Shankaracharyas is not over yet. There is a competition in the BJP to build dhams,” he said in a post on the social media.
“Satpal Maharaj and Ganesh Joshi (Cabinet Minister of Uttarakhand) earlier held the copyright of making dhams and now (Chief Minister) Pushkar Singh Dhami also seems to have entered the competition with them, ” Rawat said.
“The Kedarnath Samman Bachao Sangharsh should continue until the BJP apologizes for the crime,” he added.
Rawat also accused the BJP of making many Shankaracharyas to insult Shankaracharya Swaroopanand ji of Jyotirpeeth.
A trust has proposed to build a replica of Kedarnath temple in Burari, Delhi, the foundation stone of which was laid by Chief Minister Dhami recently.
Since then, Dhami and the ruling BJP have been on the target of the priests of Kedarnath Dham and the main opposition party Congress.
The chief minister has already given a clarification in this regard, while the head of the temple building trust, Surinder Rautela, has also said that the government has nothing to do with the construction of the temple. PTI ALM AS AS
