"BJP aims to win elections": Plea at Allahabad HC to stop consecration ceremony at Ayodhya Ram Temple

LUCKNOW: A petition has been filed in the Allahabad High Court seeking to stop the consecration ceremony at the Ayodhya Ram Temple. The petition was filed by Bhola Das, a native of Ghaziabad, citing the opposition of Shankaracharyas, the rulers of the four maths established by Adi Shankara as the watchtowers of Sanatana Dharma. On January 22, the Ram Temple dedication ceremony will take place in Ayodhya. The ceremony will be performed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

According to the petition, it is against customs to perform pran-pratishtha in an unfinished temple. "The consecration ceremony should be performed according to Sanatana Dharma. The BJP is conducting the ceremony with the aim of winning the elections. The Shankaracharyas had earlier come forward for the consecration ceremony. Puri Shankaracharya Swami Nishchalananda Saraswati had announced that he would not participate in the consecration ceremony.

Uttarakhand Jyotir Math chief Avimukteshwaranand Saraswati and Puri Govardhana Math Nishchalananda Saraswati are of the position that performing pran-pratishtha in an unfinished temple is against the rituals. Avimukteswaranand Saraswati had earlier clarified that all the four Shankaracharyas would not participate. He said that it should not be interpreted as anti-Modi and did not participate because the function was against rituals.