SP government to send emissary to pacify sulking Shankaracharya

ALLAHABAD: SP government in Uttar Pradesh has initiated a move to ensure participation of Shankaracharyas of all the four Peeths established by Adi Sankara, whose presence is considered vital for Maha Kumbh congregations.

The Shankaracharyas have so far been conspicuous by their absence at the ongoing Kumbh Mela.

"A decision has been taken to send SP MLA Ajay Kumar to Madhya Pradesh and meet Swami Swaroopananda Saraswati, the Shankaracharya of Dwarka Peeth who also holds the additional charge of the Jyotirpeeth," senior SP leader and local MP Kunwar Reoti Raman Singh told reporters here.

"We are confident that we will convince Shankaracharyaji that the government holds him in high esteem and that he will bless us by gracing the Maha Kumbh with his presence," the Lok Sabha member said.

Swami Swaroopananda had, on December 30 last, taken the unprecedented step of leaving the city before start of the congregation on January 14 and vowed not to take part in it.

The pontiff was upset over the administration's rejection of his demand for allotment of land for a " Sankaracharya Chatuspath" wherein heads of all the four Peeths could set up their camps in the vicinity of each other and around an idol of Adi Sankaracharya.

The Shankaracharya had claimed that his demand was aimed at "helping the people to distinguish between the genuine Shankaracharyas and the self-styled ones", but the administration expressed its inability to allot land for the purpose, saying "it would lead to starting a new tradition".