Prayagraj: Chaos prevailed during the meeting between the Akhil Bhartiya Akhara Parishad (ABAP) and Kumbh Mela Authority officials on Thursday when seers of the two factions exchanged heated arguments and even manhandled some prominent seers, including chief of one of the groups Shri Mahant Ravindra Puri of the Niranjani Akhara.
A video of the incident has gone viral on social media in which Shri Mahant Ravindra Puri is seen pacifying the other faction while general secretary of ABAP and chief patron of Juna Akhara Hari Giri is heard shouting at the other group after being called ‘chor' (thief).
The meeting, attended by senior district administrative officials and the Kumbh Mela Authority led by mela adhikari Vijay Kiran Anand, was called to discuss the amenities that will be provided to the akharas during the mega religious event starting Jan 13, 2025.
Representatives of all the 13 akharas attending the meeting.
Sources said the pandemonium erupted when the meeting was in progress. Two groups of seers came to blows over certain issues. Some young seers were trying to keep Shri Mahant Ravindra Puri safe by cordoning him while others were seen having heated argument.
However, the situation was brought under control within a few minutes after the intervention of senior seers. Later in the evening, some of them were shown the sectors wherein land will be allotted to them to camp during Maha Kumbh.
President Shankaracharya Parishad and founder of Kali Sena, Swami Anand Swaroop, said: "Such disputes will send a wrong message to society, and Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath should come forward and form a new Akhara Parishad."
The ABAP saw a split after the death of its former president Mahant Narendra Giri. Evers since the two factions have been at loggerheads. Off late, the seers of the two factions have become quite vocal against each other.
The two groups are led by seers of different akharas. The first one, which claims to have the support of nine akharas, is led by Shri Mahant Ravindra Puri of Niranjani Akhara, who is also the head of Mansa Devi temple trust. The second faction is led by another seer, although with the same name, Mahant Ravindra Puri of Maha Nirvani Akhara.
Likewise, Mahant Hari Giri, the patron of Juna Akhara, is the general secretary of one faction while Mahant Rajendra Das, secretary of Ani Akhara, is the general secretary of the other.
Among these, the difference between Mahant Rajendra Das and Mahant Hari Giri was quite prominent.