NEW DELHI: With the UP CM Yogi Adityanath using words like “kaalnemi” in what is being seen as an indirect attack on the Jyotish Peeth Shankaracharya Swami Avimukteshwaranand Saraswati, the BJP has started a damage control exercise, with a section of UP BJP leaders distancing itself from the controversy even as the UP government’s stance continues to be rigid.
While the Yogi Adityanath government has not shown any inclination to diffuse the controversy by reaching out to the Shankaracharya who has been sitting on a dharna since January 18 in protest against the action on the priests (including teenage priests) associated with the Jyotish Peeth, the Shankaracharya’s supporters have openly declared that Adityanath himself was surrounded with “kaalnemis.”
The controversy started when Jyotish Peeth Shankaracharya Swami Avimukteshwaranand Saraswati tried to move towards the Sangam bathing spot at the Magh Mela in Prayagraj sitting on a palanquin—a move opposed by the UP police and the administration.
While the police requested Saraswati to move on foot and leave his palanquin, the latter did not comply and forced his palanquin to move ahead leading to a clash between the police and Saraswati’s supporters.
However, the clash soon took a violent turn with jostling witnessed between both sides and damage to the canopy of the Shankaracharya’s palanquin.
As he was unable to take his holy bath, the Shankaracharya later alleged that his disciples were beaten both inside and outside the police custody and videos of young priests being beaten up emerged.
In one of the videos which has gone viral on social media, a young priest can be seen being dragged by policemen by the tuft of his hair (shikha).
The Shankaracharya also alleged that seer Mukundanand Swami was also injured in the action taken by the policemen and that the administration was acting under political pressure to take revenge because the Shankaracharya had held officials responsible for the January 2025 stampede during the Mahakumbh Mela.
The matter took a political turn with the Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav speaking to Saraswati over the phone and offering his support to the seer and the UP Congress chief Ajay Rai too meeting Saraswati on Tuesday and stating that a mindset that threatens dharmacharyas cannot be accepted.
Rai also criticised the BJP government for allegedly damaging temples (including an idol of Abhyabai Holkar) in Varanasi’s Manikarnika Ghat—an allegation that had attracted criticism of the UP government from different quarters and alleged that the government which claims to be the beneficiary of the Sanatanis and Hindus had been continuously insulting the saints.
However, the UP CM showed no inclination of bending before the Shankaracharya and made a big statement on Thursday when he said that there were several “kaalnemis” who, while taking refuge of the religion, would try to weaken the sanatan (dharma) in the garb of dharma.
Speaking at an event on Thursday, Adityanath further said that irrespective of what form he presents himself in, a person who works against dharma cannot be considered the representative of the Sanatan tradition. Kaalnemi is a mythological character mentioned in Ramayana and Ramcharitmanas who is a friend of Ravana who at his behest, goes to trick Lord Ram’s disciple Hanuman in the garb of a seer but his trickery gets caught by Hanuman.
The indirect analogy drew a sharp reaction from Saraswati’s supporters who instead targeted the UP CM for being surrounded with kaalnemis.
Shailendra Yogiraj, a close aide of Saraswati and also his media-incharge questioned if Adityanath was himself not a kaalnemi and also targeted the CM of being surrounded by those who drive luxury vehicles worth crores of rupees despite wearing saffron clothes.
“He (Adityanath) too wears saffron clothes, so is he not kaalnemi himself? He is surrounded by those who drive luxury vehicles worth crores of rupees despite wearing saffron robes and resorting to thuggery. He (Adityanath) should not look far, he is surrounded by thousands of kaalnemis around him who resort to lies, mischief and make statements about religion and communities,” Yogiraj told TDG.
Asked if the Shankaracharya will take a holy dip in the Magh Mela and end his dharna, he said that due to sitting on a continuous dharna, Saraswati had caught fever and that he was only pained because under the government which claims to be a government of the Sanatan, priests including teenaged priests were pulled by their shikha and dragged and beaten up and still no action had been taken against the policemen who were behind that action.
“Our only demand is that the same officials who dragged the palanquin and took us outside the camp should come and take the Shankaracharya to take the holy dip but so far, no one from the administration or police has come to meet us,” he said. Taking a different line from the UP CM however, deputy CM Keshav Maurya on Thursday said that he bows before the Shankaracharya and requested him to take the holy dip and end the matter.
Asked about the same, a senior BJP leader said that Maurya’s statement reflects that the party wants that the matter should not be dragged too far as several other saints including the Dwarka Peeth Shankaracharya, Ayodhya Peethadheeshwar Ramanujacharya and Kathavachak Aniruddhacharya had criticised the treatment meted out with the supporters of Saraswati. “It is an election year and the way the issue is taking a political turn, it has given the SP and Congress a chance to take mileage out of the situation. Those who have the reputation of being anti-Sanatan dharma are today standing in support of the Shankaracharya while the BJP which has always sided with the saints is being seen as being anti-Shankaracharya,” the leader said.
Another leader said that the issue could cost the BJP ahead of the 2027 elections and also referred to the decrease in the number of votes with which the Prime Minister Narendra Modi had won the Varanasi Lok Sabha seat.
“The issue of allege destruction of temples in Varanasi is yet to die down and now, another controversy has been kicked off. This is like inviting trouble. Maurya’s remarks are a message from the BJP that it is not on the same page as Adityanath on this issue,” the leader mentioned above told TDG.
A section of the UP BJP leaders feel that Maurya may have received a signal from the BJP high command in Delhi to attempt at diffusing the matter as the BJP would not want rivals SP and Congress to get a chance of taking unnecessary mileage out of the issue by being seen as standing up for a saint ahead of the 2027 polls.
Meanwhile, a section of seers including the head of the Akhil Bharatiya Akhada Parishad have voiced support for Adityanath.
The Parishad’s Ravindra Puri has said that the kind of language used by Saraswati for the UP CM could not be the language of saints and saints will have to distance from whosoever uses such kind of language.
Seer of Rambhadracharya of Tulsi Peeth (Chitrakoot) who has sided with Adityanath in the past also criticised Saraswati stating that injustice was not meted out with the Shankaracharya and that he was rightly served a notice for attempting to move towards the Sangam bathing point in a palanquin against rules.