As tensions enhance between Swami Avimukteswaranad Saraswati Whereas the Bharatiya Janata Occasion and the Bharatiya Janata Occasion are presently in a heated dispute, he was additionally at odds with earlier Uttar Pradesh governments led by the Samajwadi Occasion (SP) and Bahujan Samaj Occasion (BSP), in addition to the earlier UPA authorities on the Congress-led Centre.
Final week, Swami Saraswati returned to finding out arithmetic in Varanasi after an 11-day sit-in protest in Prayagraj the place she was allegedly prevented by the native administration from taking a sacred tub on the Triveni Sangam in Mauni Amavasya on January 18. He was additionally questioned by the Prayagraj Mela authorities relating to the usage of the title ‘Shankaracharya’ of Jyothimat in Uttarakhand.
On January 30, two days after coming back from Maamela, Swami Saraswati gave Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath a 40-day “ultimatum” to declare “Gau Mata” as “Raja Mata” and take steps to halt the export of “cow meat.” Asserting that the Maamela controversy is over and will probably be addressed solely throughout subsequent 12 months’s Mela, Saraswati mentioned it’s now the CM’s flip to reply to his calls for and supply “proof of being a Hindu”.
become involved in pupil politics
Saraswati, 56, hails from Brahmanpur village in UP’s Pratapgarh district. His authentic identify is Umashankar Pandey. He moved to Gujarat to review, the place he met Dwarka Shardapeethadishwar Shankaracharya Swami Swaroopanand Saraswati, who impressed him to review Sanskrit in Kashi (Varanasi).
Whereas finding out in Varanasi, Saraswati took half in pupil politics. He was elected as vice-president of Sampurnand Sanskrit Vishwavidyalaya state pupil union as an unbiased candidate and later as president of RSS pupil wing Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) as a candidate.
In 2000, he took the ‘Diksha’ of Naistik Brahmacharya and purchased the brand new identify Anandwaroop. In 2003, he took ‘Sanyas Deeksha’ and took the identify Swami Avimukteswaranand Saraswati.
Altitude to “Shankaracharya”
Swami Avimukteswarand’s Pattabhishek (coronation ceremony as Shankaracharya) came about on September 12, 2022, the day after Swaropanand Saraswati handed away. “The Pattabhishek ceremony of Swami Avimukteshwaranand as Shankaracharya of Jitish Peeth and Sadanand Saraswati as Shankaracharya of Dwarka Peeth was carried out in accordance with the written will of Swami Swaroopananda Saraswati Maharaj,” mentioned Avimukteshwaranand’s state media in-charge Yogiraj Sarkar. He mentioned this coronation came about inside 24 hours of Swaropa and Saraswati’s departure because the peace can’t be left vacant.
Amid the dispute over the Mauni Amavasya Snan within the Sangam, the Magha Mela authorities underneath the state authorities have issued a discover to Swami Saraswati, asking her to elucidate why she is utilizing the title ‘Shankaracharya’, citing a 2022 Supreme Court docket order.
In a notification dated January 19, the Mela authorities referred to a civil attraction pending within the Supreme Court docket on this regard. The notification acknowledged that since no additional orders have been handed within the petition, no Dharmacharya could be consecrated as Shankaracharya of Jyotish Peeth till the Supreme Court docket disposes of the attraction in query or passes additional orders relating to consecration.
In response, Swami Saraswati’s crew mentioned it might take authorized motion towards the Mela authorities for interfering with the age-old custom of Shankaracharya and his disciples.
Concerning the case pending within the Supreme Court docket, Yogiraj Sarkar mentioned, “Swami Vasudevanand Saraswati had earlier challenged the coronation of Swaroopanand Saraswati as Shankaracharya of Jyotish Peeth and later the coronation of Avimukteshwaranand ji, however no remaining order has been handed on the current petition.”
a number of strains
Swami Saraswati is a vocal prophet and has usually made headlines with statements criticizing numerous governments on numerous points.
Though UP BJP leaders have avoided commenting publicly amid Saraswati’s protest towards the alleged “tyranny” of the Prayagraj authorities and Mela authorities towards Saraswati and her followers, some have referred to as him “pro-Congress” and “anti-BJP”, suggesting that UP Congress president Ajay Rai not solely supported the seers’ sit-in but additionally visited Saraswati.
Pawan Khera, chairman of the media and publicity wing of the All India Congress Committee (AICC), attacked the Bharatiya Janata Occasion, alleging that the get together used to demand “kagaz dikao” (present me the newspaper) from Muslims, however is now saying the identical to prime Hindu seers.
The Akhilesh Yadav-led SP additionally prolonged its assist to Saraswati, accusing the BJP of “disrespecting Sanatan Dharma”.
From the BJP camp, solely deputy CM Keshav Prasad Maurya urged Avimukteshwaranand to take a sacred dip in Prayagraj, whereas promising motion towards officers who might have disrespected him.
Nonetheless, CM Adityanath appears to have expressed a special opinion. Talking at an occasion in Haryana on the time, Mr. Adityanath mentioned this with out naming anybody.
However this was not the primary time Avimukteshwaranand was on the heart of controversy. He had a troubled relationship with the Bharatiya Janata Occasion.
Following the January 2025 stampede incident at Mahakumbh Mela in Prayagraj that killed a minimum of 30 folks, Saraswati had blamed the Adityanath authorities for the incident.
In January 2024, forward of the consecration of the Ram temple in Ayodhya, Avimukteshwaranand not solely refused to attend the ceremony but additionally opposed the consecration of the “temple underneath building”.
A 12 months earlier, he had claimed that 228 kg of gold went lacking from the Kedarnath temple in Uttarakhand, calling it a “rip-off”.
Akhilesh Yadav had spoken to Swami Saraswati over the telephone to increase the SP’s assist over the Maghmela riots, however in September 2015, the police had stopped It was throughout his authorities that police cracked down on protesters, together with Avimukteswaranand, who blocked Godauria Chauraha and demanded that the Ganesha idol be immersed within the Ganges.
Later, violence and arson broke out in Varanasi throughout a protest march by seers and different native leaders towards the police motion, after which Ajay Rai left for Delhi to satisfy Rahul Gandhi. Rai was arrested at Varanasi airport after returning residence.
“He (Saraswati) is neither a supporter nor an opponent of any explicit political get together. He had opposed the demolition of Rani Bhawani temple in the course of the Mayawati authorities. He had protested towards the demolition of Lord Ganesha idols in the course of the Samajwadi Occasion authorities. He had protested towards the demolition of idols and temples in the course of the growth of the Kashi Vishwanath hall in the course of the first time period of the Yogi Adityanath authorities. He ran the Mandir Bachao Andolan to guard the Ganga. Mr. Andolan additionally excommunicated Mr. Rahul from Hinduism for ‘insulting’ Manusmriti, an historical Sanskrit textual content,” mentioned Sanjay Pandey, one other media correspondent for Avimukteswaranand.
Pandey mentioned Swami Saraswati had began the Ramsetu Rakasha Andolan and was additionally working the Ganga Seva Abhiyan to demand that the Ganges be declared a nationwide river. “Ganga’s calls for have been accepted by the UPA authorities. He additionally fought for the development of Ram temple,” Pandey claimed.
