Kailash Vijayvargiya and three other BJP leaders prayed at Madhya Pradesh’s Mahakaleshwar Temple in Ujjain on Friday morning during Bhasm Aarti even as no person was supposed to be allowed inside the shrine’s sanctum sanctorum during the ritual, priests said.
Ajay Pandit and Sanjay Pujari, the main priests of the temple, said the ritual was delayed by half an hour because of the visit of the BJP leaders. The two said they were stopped from entering the temple when the BJP leaders prayed.
Another priest of the temple said the BJP leaders arrived around 3am and worshipped at sanctum sanctorum by offering milk and water to the deity on the occasion Naagpanchami. The temple administration locked gates and turned off the CCTV cameras as there was a ban on entry of any person into the sanctum sanctorum during Bhasm Aarti.
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Pandit said he stood outside the gate as he was also not allowed to go inside the temple for 45 minutes. “The VIP darshan broke the protocol of the temple. Bhasm Aarti was scheduled to be held between 4 am and 5 am. It started around 4.30 am as BJP leaders worshipped and delayed the arrangement for the aarti. The administration was so secretive about the VIP darshan that they locked all the gates.”
{{/usCountry}}Pandit said he stood outside the gate as he was also not allowed to go inside the temple for 45 minutes. “The VIP darshan broke the protocol of the temple. Bhasm Aarti was scheduled to be held between 4 am and 5 am. It started around 4.30 am as BJP leaders worshipped and delayed the arrangement for the aarti. The administration was so secretive about the VIP darshan that they locked all the gates.”
{{/usCountry}}Pandit said he will raise the matter with chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan to resolve this issue of “VIP darshan”. Pujari, who performed the aarti, said the system of VIP darshan is not a good idea.
Dinesh Jaiswal, the officer in charge of the temple who ordered the locking of temple gates, said he received an order and just followed it. “I will not say anything else on it.”
Vijayvargiya refused to comment.