There is a dispute concerning the inauguration of a new Kedarnath temple in New Delhi.
Swami Avimukteshwaranand, Shankaracharya of Jyotirmath, strongly objected to the construction of a Kedarnath temple in the national capital, stating that a symbolic Kedarnath cannot exist.
“12 Jyotirlingas have been mentioned in the Shiv Puran with name and location. When the address for Kedarnath is in the Himalayas, how can it be in Delhi?” Swami Avimukteshwaranand asked rhetorically.
He mentioned political motives, stating, "People with political affiliations are gaining access to our places of worship."
The Shankaracharya also raised accusations of corruption in the gold plating process within the innermost chamber of the Kedarnath temple.
“There is a gold scam in Kedarnath, why is that issue not raised? After doing a scam there, now Kedarnath will be built in Delhi? And then there will be another scam,” Swami Avimukteshwaranand told reporters.
Last year, a senior priest of the Kedarnath temple claimed that up to Rs 125 crore were involved in a scam related to the temple's gold layering work. He alleged that the layering was made of brass instead of gold, an accusation that was denied by the temple committee.
“228kgs of gold is missing from Kedarnath... No inquiry has started. Who is responsible for this? Now they are saying they will build a Kedarnath in Delhi, this cannot happen,” the Shankaracharya said.
Uttarakhand's Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami participated in a bhoomi puja (consecration ceremony) in the Hiranki neighbourhood near Burari in northwest Delhi, marking the beginning of the construction of the new Kedarnath temple.
The priests at the Kedarnath temple in Rudraprayag district held a demonstration in front of the shrine on Sunday. They gathered under the banner of Kedar Sabha along with various other associations and chanted slogans against the Uttarakhand state government and the chief minister.
Kedarnath is one of the four sacred Hindu shrines of the Char Dham, which also includes Badrinath, Gangotri, and Yamunotri. These sites attract millions of Hindu pilgrims between the months of May and October.
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