BJP Leaders Meet Puri Seer To Heal apos;prayer Protest apos; Row

BJP leaders meet Puri seer to heal 'prayer protest' row By
Published: 00:03 BST, 30 June 2014 | Updated: 00:04 BST, 30 June 2014


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In a break from tradition, Puri Shankaracharya Swami Nishalananda Saraswati didn't offer prayers on the occasion of Rath Yatra of Lord Jagannath in Puri on Sunday as a mark of protest against what he called the administration's bid to humiliate him.



BJP leaders and Union ministers Dharmendra Pradhan and https://telegra.ph/Rath-Yatra-Rituals-06-29 Jual Oram met the seer separately and held discussions with him.

Asking the state government to refrain from insulting the Shankaracharya, the Union petroleum and natural gas minister said the chief minister should intervene in the matter and put an end to the row.



Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh at the Jagannath temple on the occasion of Rath Yatra in the Capital on Sunday



Soon after Pradhan met the Shankaracharya, senior BJP leader and Union Tribal Affairs Minister Oram also called on the seer at the Govardhan Peeth and requested him to visit the deities and the chariots.



The seer, who used to perform the puja atop their chariots, was miffed as the Sri Jagannath temple administration had asked him to come for the puja alone.

RELATED ARTICLES Share this article Share The administration claimed it was acting on the orders of the Orissa High Court, which had recently ruled, in keeping with the Shankaracharya's own opinion on the issue, that only people connected with the rituals of the deities should be allowed on the chariots.