Uttarakhand: New ‘Hindutva Poster Boy' Dhami in Soup Over Kedarnath

Dehradun: Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami, the new ‘poster boy of Hindutva’ finds himself in a bitter controversy, that too on the issue of Kedarnath Dham, one of the most revered Hindu religious places located in Garhwal Himalayas.

After the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) lost the Ayodhya Lok Sabha seat in Uttar Pradesh and then the Badrinath Assembly bypoll in Uttarakhand in quick succession, both places associated with Hindu religion, the controversy on Kedarnath Dham could not have come at a worse time for the party and Chief Minister Dhami.

The controversy erupted a day after Kedarnath BJP legislator Shaila Rani Rawat passed away necessitating a bye-election. The Uttarakhand Chief Minister presided over a function over the foundation stone laying ceremony of a temple in Burari area of Delhi, symbolically named Kedarnath Dham. The news, which was shared by the Chief Minister himself on his social media, was not taken kindly by the priest community of Kedarnath shrine, who staged a dharna outside the shrine.   

Brijesh Sati, general secretary of the Uttarakhand Char Dham Teerth Purohit Maha Panchayat, alleged that the use of the name of Kedarnath, one of the most revered shrines of Sanatan Dharma, for monetary gains amounts to sacrilege. He said there was no issue in constructing Shiva temples, but replicating Kedarnath should not be allowed. The priests demanded that such a project should be shelved and threatened to intensify the agitation at all the fours Dhams -- Kedarnath Badrinath, Gangotri and Yamunotri -- in Uttarakhand. 

The priests feared that a sizeable amount of money coming to the Kedarnath shrine, dedicated to Lord Shiva, would be diverted to the Delhi temple and alleged that funds were already being collected under a QR code similar to the Kedarnath shrine. They held a meeting with civil officials at Ukhimath in Rudraprayag district on Monday and strongly opposed any move to build a replica of Kedarnath Dham anywhere else.

The statement by Sankaracharya Avimukteshwaranand Saraswati, who is head of JyotirMath situated in Joshimath area of Chamoli district, charging present regime of alleged theft of 228 kilos of gold from Kedarnath temple, has further ignited the matter. He said it was criminal act to replicate Kedarnath Dham, which was a location chosen by Adi Shankaracharya.

After the controversy erupted, BJP tried to argue that a similar temple of Badrinath was inaugurated by former Congress Chief Minister Harish Rawat in Mumbai during his tenure, but that did not cut much ice.

Finding himself caught in the controversy, that too on the issue of one of the most revered Hindu religious places, Chief Minister Dhami was on the back foot, clarifying that Kedarnath Dham was not being replicated.   “Jyotirling ka sthaan ek hee hai..... mandir anek sthaano par bane hai (a Jyotirlinga cannot be replicated...temples can be built at other place),” he told the media.

Meanwhile, Uttarakhand Congress has hit back at the Uttarakhand government over the issue. Suryakant Dhasmana, vice-president of Uttarkhand Pradesh Congress Committee, said that BJP, after losing Ayodhya and Badrinath, had not learnt any lessons and was trying to bulldoze the age-old Hindu traditions.

The Congress leader said any attempt to replicate Kedarnath Dham which is one of the 12 ‘Jyotirlinga Dhams’ of ‘Sanatan Hindus’ would not be tolerated. He alleged that people associated with BJP were part of the trust constructing the Kedarnath Dham temple in Delhi, indicating the involvement of the party.

Ajendra Ajay, Chairman of the Badrinath Kedarnath Temple Committee (BKTC), had to step in and clarify that legal action would be taken against anyone misusing the name or photos of Kedarnath-Badrinath shrines, adding that there could not be any replica of Kedarnath Dham.

Surendra Rautela, President of the Kedarnath Dham Trust, in Delhi’s Burari, also clarified that the Uttarakhand government had nothing to do with the construction of the shrine in Delhi. 

“The mandir of Kedarnath Dham is only a mandir and not a dham. The Uttarakhand government has nothing to do with it. Pushkar Singh Dhami, on our request, had attended the foundation stone-laying ceremony. He attended it on our personal invitation, and it has nothing to do with the government,” he told mediapersons. 

“Badrinath Dham is there in Bombay and its inauguration was done by former Chief Minister Harish Rawat. Vaishno Devi mandirs and Sai Baba mandirs are also there across the country. This is a political stunt and nothing else,” Rautela said, alleging that the issue was being politicised by a few leaders.

The writer is a freelance journalist based in Dehradun, Uttarakhand.