Lucknow, Jan 22 (PTI) BJP leader Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti on Thursday said there might have been lapses on part of the Magh Mela administration and Swami Avimukteshwaranand Saraswati that led to a controversy in Prayagraj, and stressed the need for restraint in crowded situations.
Jyoti’s remarks came against the backdrop of police allegedly stopping Swami Avimukteshwaranand Saraswati from taking a holy dip at the confluence of three rivers in Prayagraj on the occasion of Mauni Amavasya on January 18, accusing him of violating crowd-control rules by using a horse-drawn carriage and breaking barricades.
A day later, the Magh Mela administration issued a notice to Saraswati asking how he was projecting himself as the Shankaracharya of Jyotish Peeth despite a Supreme Court order stating that no religious leader could be enthroned as Shankaracharya of Jyotishpeeth until the disposal of an appeal.
Reacting to the issue, Jyoti, a former Union minister, told PTI Videos that she did not wish to go into the procedural aspects of the issue, noting that the event underway in Prayagraj is the Magh Mela and not the Mahakumbh.
“In Prayagraj, it is the Magh Mela where ‘kalpvasis’ come, stay for a period and take a holy dip at the Sangam. This issue now falls under the domain of the chief minister, and he will respond to it,” she said.
The BJP leader said it appeared that “some mistakes were made on both sides “by the administration as well as by the Shankaracharya of our peeth, but added that she did not want to comment further on the matter.
Emphasising restraint, she said that in crowded conditions, all concerned should exercise patience. “There is no ‘shahi snan’ during the Magh Mela. People should go for the holy bathing in the Ganga in a calm manner, and it was the responsibility of the administration to ensure adequate security.” Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti belongs to the same monastic order as Swami Avimukteshwaranand Saraswati. PTI KIS NSD NSD
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