The construction of Kedarnath temple in Delhi has snowballed into a major controversy as Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami was forced to defend his participation in the foundation laying ceremony of the temple on July 10.

Dhami laid the foundation stone of the temple as chief guest in the function organised by a trust of the Uttarakhand origin residents in Burari.

Forced by the issue raked by the opposition Congress party and priests and purohits in Kedarnath shrine, the chief minister on Monday said “There can only be one seat of Kedarnath Jotyrlinga as dham and no other place can acquire this status.

However, symbolic temples were constructed in the past as well. So it can be done now as well” said Dhami when asked about the controversy resulting from the foundation laying ceremony of the Kedarnath Temple in Burari in Delhi.

It’s significant that Dhami was the chief guest at the foundation laying ceremony of the claimed replica of the Kedarnath Shrine to be constructed by a trust “Kedar Sabha” formed by Uttarakhand origin in the area. This had angered the Kedarnath shrine priests, purohits and a section of people in Uttarakhand specially those from Kedarnath area.

As the Kedarnath priests’ community protested the shrine replica construction in Delhi, the main opposition Congress party alleged that the BJP government was trying to demean the Kedarnath dham by constructing its replica in the national capital. Uttarakhand Congress leaders termed the Dhami’s action as an insult to the Kedarnath shrine, Hindus and Sanatan.

PCC president Karan Mahra said, “Chief minister and the BJP were trying to make a mockery of the Hindus faith. It was an insult to the Sanatan and Vedic tradition. The BJP had earlier, contrary to the Vedic traditions, created dozens of Shankaracharyas and now there is a move to compromise with the glory and peoples’ faith to the Jyotirlingas.

Congress spokesperson Gsrima Mehra Dasauni had said “Kedarnath shrine is one of 12 revered Jyotirlingas for the Hindus across the globe. Now if Jyotirlingas are considered symbols, it’s worrisome and will be fatal for the Hindu Sanatan religion and its culture. Why are BJP governments making arbitrary interpretations of the Sanatan. The Dhami government must clarify if permission was taken from the four Shankaracharyas, considered to be custodians of four dhams in the country, for construction of Kedarnath shrine in Delhi.”

Reacting to the allegations made by the opposition trust head Surinder Rautela too had to deny that a replica of the Kedarnath dham was being constructed in Burari.

He said “temples are not being constructed by the state government. It’s the trust that will constrict the temple which is not the replica of the Kedarnath Shrine but a temple akin to those in other parts of the country.”