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Pontiff defers Ayodhya march ‘in national interest’ after Pulwama attack
The 94-year-old pontiff had announced his plans on January 21 to march from his Kumbh Mela camp in Prayagraj to Ayodhya to perform foundation-laying ceremony for the construction of a Ram temple.
Jyotishpeeth Shankaracharya Swami Swaroopanand Saraswati on Sunday called off his proposed march to Ayodhya ‘in national interest’ in view of the mood in the country following the terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pulwama on Thursday which killed at least 40 CRPF troopers, convener of the proposed march Swami Avimukteshwaranand Saraswati said.
The 94-year-old pontiff had announced his plans on January 21 to march from his Kumbh Mela camp in Prayagraj to Ayodhya to perform foundation-laying ceremony for the construction of a Ram temple.
Two days ago, the pontiff had moved to Varanasi from Prayagraj for treatment at BHU’s Sir Sunderlal Hospital after he complained of breathing trouble.
He was discharged on late Saturday night and moved to his Shri Vidya Mutt ashram at Kedarghat in Varanasi.
Swami Avimukteshwaranand said the pontiff’s disciples including Swami Sadanand Saraswati, Brahmchari Subbudhanand and Shri Prakash Mishra drew the Shankaracharya’s attention towards news reports about the prevailing sentiments among the people after the Pulwama attack. “After this, he decided to defer the march for an indefinite period,” he said.
He added that Varanasi district magistrate Surendra Singh also visited the Shankaracharya and repeated the request after which he said that he would defer the march in national interest.
The pontiff has appealed to all his followers and disciples, who had left their homes to participate in the march, to take a dip in the Sangam, proceed to Ayodhya for ‘darshan’ of Ram Lalla and return to their homes peacefully.
Earlier, the state government and the district administrations of Ayodhya, Prayagraj and Varanasi had been trying to convince the Shakaracharya to call off his ‘Ramgreh Yatra’ which was scheduled to reach Ayodhya on February 21 after stopovers in Pratapgarh and Sultanpur.
UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath and president of the Akhil Bharatiya Akhada Parishad (ABAP) Mahant Narendra Giri had also requested the Shankaracharya to call off the march.
The district administration in Ayodhya had clamped prohibitory orders on Saturday in view of a proposed march.
