UP: Prayagraj administration ready to apologise to Shankaracharya

Lucknow: The Prayagraj administration is prepared to tender an apology to Shankaracharya Avimukteshwaranand Saraswati following the recent standoff during the Magh Mela, according to his media in-charge Yogiraj Sarkar.

Yogi government said the administration had not anticipated that the Shankaracharya would abruptly leave the Magh Mela and travel to Varanasi.

Officials were under the impression that he would remain in Prayagraj until the Magh Purnima

bath on February 1 and that the issue could be resolved in the meantime.

He said that after the Shankaracharya reached Varanasi on January 28, two senior officials from Lucknow contacted him and proposed that he be accorded a respectful ceremonial bath at the Magh Mela on Magh Purnima.

In response, the Shankaracharya placed two conditions before the government.

The first condition is that the officials responsible for the controversy must issue a written apology.

The second is that the established protocol for ceremonial bathing applicable to all four Shankaracharyas must be followed without exception.

Yogiraj Sarkar said that some senior government officials are expected to travel to Varanasi and escort the Shankaracharya back to Prayagraj, where arrangements will be made for his bath at the Sangam on Magh Purnima.

Meanwhile, Computer Baba has been extending support to Shankaracharya Avimukteshwaranand since Mauni Amavasya.

It was on Mauni Amavasya that a confrontation took place between the administration and the Shankaracharya’s disciples. A meeting has since been held in Varanasi to finalise the future course of action.