Prayagraj (UP), Jan 21 (PTI) Amid the controversy over Swami Avimukteshwaranand Saraswati allegedly being stopped by police from taking a holy dip on Mauni Amavasya, Akhara Parishad president Mahant Ravindra Puri on Wednesday came out in support of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.
Addressing a Virat Sant Sammelan organised at the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) camp during the Magh Mela here, Puri said that if there was any injustice, seers should approach the government and officials instead of resorting to abuse.
“If we face any injustice, we should go to the government and the authorities. He (Avimukteshwaranand) started abusing Yogi ji,” the Akhara Parishad chief said.
The police allegedly stopped Swami Avimukteshwaranand Saraswati when he, along with his supporters, was on his way to Prayagraj on Sunday to take a dip in the Sangam on the occasion of Mauni Amavasya.
Puri said all seers are equal and the chief minister himself is a seer. “If we do not respect him, who will? We can oppose officials or the Mela administration, but we cannot oppose the chief minister,” he said.
He added that grievances should have been conveyed directly to the chief minister. “When the chief minister is abused directly, what is he supposed to do? Our chief minister himself is a seer and our prime minister too is a seer. Fingers are being raised at them,” Puri said.
The Akhara Parishad president said all seers were aware that there was no ‘Shahi Snan’ during the Magh Mela.
“It is very unfortunate that abuses are being hurled at the chief minister over the issue of bathing. Is this the language of seers? We will have to distance ourselves from such seers,” he said.
Puri said seers should be proud that one of them is the chief minister of UP and who has made the state an “Uttam Pradesh”.
“We have no opposition to any seer. Our objection is to the opposition to the honourable chief minister,” he said. PTI RAJ ABN KSS KSS
This report is auto-generated from PTI news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content.