Lucknow, February 22 (IANS). Samajwadi Party President Akhilesh Yadav has launched a scathing attack on the Uttar Pradesh government regarding the FIR lodged against Jyotirmath’s Shankaracharya Swami Avimukteshwaranand Saraswati.
He alleged that the government is trying to humiliate Shankaracharya by bringing up a 20-year-old case. In the press conference held at the SP office on Sunday, Akhilesh Yadav said that there may be differences of opinions, but it is not appropriate to go to this level and make allegations.
He said that if the complainant is a disciple of some other saint, then it was my mistake to withdraw an earlier case. I shouldn’t have taken him back.
Actually, UP Police has registered an FIR against Shankaracharya Swami Avimukteshwaranand Saraswati, his disciple Swami Mukundanand Brahmachari and some unknown people on charges of child sexual abuse. This action has been taken after the instructions of the court.
Akhilesh Yadav alleged that this was the first time that a Shankaracharya was stopped from bathing in the Ganga at the Magh Mela. He said that Shankaracharya sat on strike for several days during the cold and the government did not treat him respectfully. This entire incident appears to be motivated by political malice and the government has now lost its credibility among the public.
The SP chief accused BJP of spoiling the atmosphere of the state before the elections. He claimed that in the past, investigation into incidents like throwing meat in the temple had revealed the involvement of BJP workers and they had to go to jail also.
Akhilesh Yadav said that attempts are made to spread tension in the society by circulating fake and edited videos on social media. He appealed to the people to remain alert. The former chief minister alleged that his government had started schemes for cleaning the Gomti and Hindon rivers, but the present government was not taking forward the development works.
Terming the underground pipeline projects as “pipelines of corruption”, he said irregularities were taking place from Bundelkhand to Lucknow. Its cost has doubled.
Taking a dig at Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath’s proposed visit to Japan, he said, “Going to Japan, but not going to Kyoto.” Akhilesh Yadav also commented on the issue of social justice by mentioning the character Karna of Mahabharata and criticized the policies of the government. The SP President said that the public has heartily rejected the present government and is only waiting for the voting.
–IANS
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