Cong alleges mistreatment of Shankaracharya Swami Avimukteshwaranand

New Delhi: The Congress on Sunday alleged mistreatment of Shankaracharya Swami Avimukteshwaranand at the Prayagraj Magh Mela in Uttar Pradesh, accusing the BJP of insulting Hindu religious traditions while claiming to be their political custodian.

Addressing a press conference in New Delhi, Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera said the incident of the Shankaracharya being denied the traditional rajal snan (royal bath) on Mauni Amavasya amounted to an unprecedented disruption of a centuries-old religious practice.

“A tradition that survived Mughal rule and British administration has been broken under the present dispensation,” Khera said, alleging that the BJP was driven not by faith but by power and profit.

Khera played a video showing clashes between the Shankaracharya’s supporters and the police, claiming that disciples were assaulted and the seer was stopped from proceeding in a palanquin for the ritual bath.

Describing the episode as a “betrayal of faith”, he said the government was “biting the hand that feeds it”, even as it publicly projects itself as the protector of Hinduism.

The Congress leader alleged that the Shankaracharya was being targeted for raising uncomfortable questions on the government, including the consecration of what he termed an incomplete Ram temple in Ayodhya, alleged mismanagement during the Mahakumbh, and the handling of bodies floating in the Ganga during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Drawing a comparison, Khera questioned why RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat enjoyed Z-plus security while a senior Hindu seer and his followers faced restrictions and police action.

“Does the BJP consider Bhagwat a greater religious authority than a Shankaracharya?” he asked.