Tuesday, 27 AUGUST 2024 | PNS | DEHRADUN
After the Shri Kedarnath Dham Delhi Trust announced its plan to not construct Kedarnath temple in Delhi, the Congress has demanded that the trust should deposit the donations collected in the name of the construction of the temple to the Badrinath Kedarnath Temple Committee (BKTC). The former Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) president Ganesh Godiyal said that the trust should deposit the donations collected through a QR code, which was issued to gather funds for the temple construction in Delhi, to BKTC. Besides this, he also asked the Delhi trust to return the sacred stone (Shila) that was taken from the Kedarnath temple in Uttarakhand. “The stone was intended to be established in the new temple in Delhi, which will no longer be built following the cancellation of the project. We also want the Delhi trust to transfer the ownership of the land, which was initially planned for the temple’s construction in Delhi, to the BKTC,” he said. Godiyal also highlighted the role of chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami in halting the temple construction project. He said that Dhami initially supported the initiative to build a replica of Kedarnath temple in Delhi but after appeals from Congress and citizens, he possibly used his influence to stop the construction. “We also want the CM to use his influence to ensure that the trust addresses these remaining issues,” he added. The Congress made these demands in the wake of a significant public outcry in the State where many residents, Teerth Purohits and opposition members voiced their opposition to the idea of a replica of Kedarnath temple in Delhi. Many viewed the project as an unnecessary duplication that undermined the sanctity and uniqueness of the original Kedarnath temple in Rudraprayag district.
