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ABAP seers to urge CM Yogi to ban non-veg at U.P. religious sites
The Akhil Bharatiya Akhara Parishad (ABAP)—the top decision-making body of country’s Hindu monastic orders—is upset over the recent incident of non-vegetarian food party by some youths on a boat on the Ganga in the vicinity of Sangam in Prayagraj
The Akhil Bharatiya Akhara Parishad (ABAP)—the top decision-making body of country’s Hindu monastic orders—is upset over the recent incident of non-vegetarian food party by some youths on a boat on the Ganga in the vicinity of Sangam in Prayagraj.
Seers of ABAP plan to meet chief minister Yogi Adityanath and urge him to ensure complete stop on sale, cooking and consumption of non-vegetarian items not just within a radius of 5km of Sangam but also in similar sites across the state.
The seers have decided to hold a meeting in Prayagraj and prepare a proposal demanding drafting of a law to ban use of all forms of non-vegetarian food on and in immediate vicinity of the Ganga and other holy rivers.
“We are going to perform ‘pind daan’ (a ritual to offer homage to the departed souls) at Sangam for the people who lost their lives to Covid in Prayagraj on September 10. During it, the ABAP will hold a meeting that will discuss preparations for the Mahakumbh-2025 as well as pass a proposal demanding framing of a law to ban sale, cooking and consumption of non-vegetarian food item on and near the holy rivers located near revered sites of pilgrimage,” said Mahant Ravindra Puri, ABAP chief and secretary of Shri Panchayati Akhara Niranjani.
The proposal would then be handed over to the chief minister by a delegation of seers with a request for action on it on priority, he added. The seers point out that presently there is no separate law to act against people indulging in such acts and insulting the beliefs of millions. The police therefore charge such individuals under general sections of IPC of hurting religious sentiments and creating tension between different communities etc. If a law is enacted, strict action against such people can be ensured, they say.
On September 4, Prayagraj Vidvat Parishad—another organisation having a number of seers as its members— had held a meeting and demanded a ban on non-vegetarian food within a radius of five kms of the Sangam. The heads of temples, monasteries and religious places of Prayagraj while participating in the meeting chaired by the body’s president Swami Hari Chaitanya Brahmachari said Prayagraj is hailed as “the king of all pilgrim sites” and use of non-vegetarian food in all forms should be banned here within 5km radius from Sangam.
The leaders of Vishva Hindu Parishad (Kashi Prant) had also written to the UP CM in May 2022 urging him to impose a ban on not just sale and consumption of meat and liquor but also eggs and fish in 5km radius of Sangam in Prayagraj, said VHP’s regional secretary (Gauraksha) Lal Mani Tiwari.
