Jyotirmath Shankaracharya blasts RSS chief for 'politically convenient' view on restoring temples

The Shankaracharya of the Jyotirmath Peeth in Uttarakhand has denounced RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat for urging Indians to put an end to temple-mosque rows.

He slammed the RSS chief for taking on a “politically convenient” position on the issue of restoring temples.

Swami Avimukteshwaranand Saraswati on Sunday accused Bhagwat of doing a U-turn on the issue after speaking in a different tone when the BJP was not in power.

Watch | RSS chief Bhagwat frowns upon temple-mosque disputes

Politically convenient

The sage said in Haridwar that it was necessary to prepare a list of temples destroyed in the past by “invaders” and to order archaeological surveys of the structures so as to "restore Hindu pride".

"When he wanted power, he went around speaking about temples. Now that he has power, he is advising not to look for temples," Saraswati said of Bhagwat's remarks made in Pune on December 21.

The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief recently said that it was not acceptable to rake up new temple-mosque disputes after the construction of a grand Ram temple in Ayodhya.

He had expressed concern over the resurgence of new temple-mosque disputes and asserted that certain individuals, after the construction of Ayodhya’s Ram Temple, seem to believe they can become “leaders of Hindus” by raking up such issues.

Sage criticises Amit Shah

Further, the seer said a lot of atrocities were committed against the Hindus and their religious places were destroyed in the past.

"If now, the Hindu society wants to restore and preserve its temples, then what is wrong in it?" he asked.

The Shankaracharya also criticised Union home minister Amit Shah's statement on BR Ambedkar in Parliament that has triggered a flaming row between the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Opposition.

He said that there are a lot of people who support Ambedkar’s ideology so everyone is using his name for their politics.

Defending Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, Saraswati said the scuffle outside parliament was due to Shah's remarks on Ambedkar.

Shah has been under fire from several Opposition parties since Tuesday over a comment he made referring to Ambedkar during a debate on the Constitution in the Rajya Sabha.

Also read: Another blunt talk by Mohan Bhagwat, but is he really walking the talk?

Shankaracharya on Bangladesh

The holy man also condemned alleged atrocities on Hindus in Bangladesh since August and called upon the Central government to take strict action on the matter. He said that illegal immigrants from Bangladesh living in India should be sent back.

Accusing the Centre of inaction, he called for a mass expulsion of illegal immigrants from Bangladesh from India.