Saturday, 25 February 2023 | PNS | DEHRADUN
The Uttarakhand Congress has opposed the restrictions imposed by the chairman of the Badrinath Kedarnath Temple Committee (BKTC) Ajendra Ajay on the pilgrims and Teerth Purohits for the upcoming Char Dham Yatra.
Accusing the BKTC of acting in a dictatorial manner, the chief spokesperson of Uttarakhand Congress Garima Dasauni said on Friday that the BKTC chairman Ajay has ordered that the pilgrims would have to follow a dress code during the Char Dham Yatra and there would be ban Purohits on taking any offerings from pilgrims. She said that the State government should tell people why the Devasthanam board was scrapped when the government, especially BKTC chairman, is continuing to function in a despotic manner. She opined that the Teerth Purohits were always exploited during the rule of the BJP.
Questioning the motive behind the ban on Teerth Purohits from receiving offerings, Dasauni said that the BJP government intends to hit their earnings. She said that the Char Dham Yatra and the Dhams are the heritage of the State and the BJP has no right to dictate its terms on it. She said that since Ajay has expertise in creating controversies on religious issues, the BJP government had handed over the reins of the BKTC to him.
The Congress leader demanded that the chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami should take cognisance of the issue and overturn the order of BKTC chairman.
