"Norms Not Followed, Politics": Puri Shankaracharya Won't Attend Ram Temple Event

The Puri Shankaracharya has refused to attend grand consecration ceremony of the Ram temple in Ayodhya, stating proper "norms" are not being followed for the event and there's politics over it.

Nishchalananda Saraswati, pontiff of the Govardhana Mutt in Puri, said the January 22 event is being given a political angle and he will stay out of it.

"The Prime Minister will be in the sanctum sanctorum and touch the idol. This is being given a political angle. Lord Ram's consecration must be done in a dignified way. I will neither oppose it, nor attend it," said the Puri Shankarcharya.

"I have put forward my views and want everything to go smoothly," he added.

The pontiff of the Jyotir Mutt in Uttarakhand has echoed similar views whereas their counterparts from Dwarka and Sringeri mutts have backed the event.

Shankaracharya is a commonly used title of heads of mutts as mentioned in the Advaita Vedanta tradition of Hinduism. It is believed that Adi Shankaracharya had established four mutts at Badrikashram Jyotish Peeth in the north, Dwarka's Shardha Peeth in the west, Govardhan Peetha in Puri in the east, and Sringeri Sharada Peetham in Chikkamagalur district, Karnataka.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is among the prominent invitees for the grand consecration ceremony of the Ayodhya temple on January 22.

The Congress yesterday dubbed it a "political project", declining invitations extended to its leaders - party chief Mallikarjun Kharge, his predecessor Sonia Gandhi and the party's Lok Sabha leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury.