Odisha: Puri Shankaracharya smells 'planned design' to sabotage Rath Yatra

BHUBANESWAR: With just a day left to Puri Rath Yatra and public outrage reaching its peak over the Supreme Court’s June 18 order stalling the festival on Tuesday in view of Covid-19 pandemic, Puri Shankaracharya Swami Nischalananda Saraswati on Sunday suspected an evil plan was hatched to sabotage the Rath.
The Shankaracharya fell short of naming or blaming anyone directly. He did not even criticise the SC. “A number of people and organisations promptly moved the Supreme Court and filed applications, seeking reconsideration of the order. The apex court could have considered the applications on June 20. Now with the time running out and only one day left for Rath Yatra, it seems a well-planned design was hatched to stop Rath Yatra,” the Shankaracharya said in a video message.
Even though the Supreme Court is scheduled to hear the intervention petitions on Monday, the Shankaracharya said the hearing could have been conducted on Saturday or Sunday. “There are provisions that the Supreme Court can take up urgent matters for hearing on vacations and holidays,” the top religious guru said.
Notably, the Shankaracharya had welcomed the apex court’s verdict on Friday. The seer then said the court’s decision was understandable in the context of public health and safety in the wake of Covid-19 pandemic. He had urged the apex court to review its order. However, the Shankaracharya’s strong posture on Sunday came amid growing demands from several quarters to hold Rath Yatra in a restricted manner.
Puri king and chairman of Jagannath temple managing committee Dibyasingha Deb, who drew flak for failing to pursue the matter seriously, woke up on Sunday and wrote to chief minister Naveen Patnaik, urging the government to immediately file review petition in the Supreme Court.
The Shankaracharya has so far refused to speak on the state government’s stand on the issue, even as opposition parties and people have been slamming the state government for failing to convince the Supreme Court to observe Rath Yatra without the participation of devotees.