Lucknow: No Hindu is sitting in the posts of the Prime Minister or the President “as of now”, Jyotirmath shankaracharya Avimukteshwaranand Saraswati has said, highlighting that cow slaughter continues under the current regime.

Speaking in Lucknow on the second day of the ‘Gau Dhvaj Sthapna Bharat Yatra’, Avimukteshwaranand Monday said any Hindu PM or President would have passed an order to stop cow slaughter or resigned in protest and compared the Hindu credentials of people in those posts to “Lucknow’s elephant statues, which are only for show”.

“Who is a Hindu out of them? Which President is Hindu; which PM is Hindu? Would cow slaughter have continued in their regime had they been Hindus? You (are) a Hindu. If you are made the PM, will you accept cow slaughter in your regime?” he asked a media person who suggested that both the PM and President were Hindus.

The shankaracharyas of the four different ‘peethams (streams)’, affiliated with the 14th-century Advaita tradition of Hindu spiritual practice, command respect among seers and saints across the country.

In his address to media persons in Indira Gandhi Pratishthan, Lucknow, Jyotirmath shankaracharya Avimukteshwaranand said, “So far, no Hindu has ever taken these posts (PM/President). Had this been the case, his inner conscience would not have allowed this (cow slaughter) to continue. He would have resigned from the post or would have issued an order that cow slaughter cannot be allowed here.”

He also said, “No Hindu is sitting in these posts as of now.”

“Just like the elephants in the parks of your Lucknow… are they (real) elephants? Can they walk? They are only for show, to stand there. Just like the elephants of your parks in Lucknow, who are only for show and cannot walk, can’t uproot a tree and can’t render beauty… in the same way, these are Hindus for show… not real Hindus. Had they been Hindus, cow slaughter would not have happened even for once under their regime,” he added.

Avimukteshwaranand said he, when the ‘Gau Dhvaj Sthapna Bharat Yatra’ was in Ayodhya, asked Ram Lalla for strength so he could stop cow slaughter, resolving that he would not go for the deity’s ‘darshan’ till fulfilling the vow to stop cow slaughter.

The Jyotirmath shankaracharya was in Ayodhya Sunday for the yatra’s launch but refrained from visiting the Ram temple and only circumambulated its complex.

Asked why he did not visit the temple, Avimukteshwaranand told media persons that one can not offer prayers in a partially built temple, and he would visit the temple once its ‘shikhar (pinnacle)’ is complete.

Earlier in January this year, Avimukteshwaranand criticised the planned ‘pran pratishtha’ or inauguration of the incomplete Ayodhya Ram Temple by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying that the ceremony would be “against the shastras”.

On Monday, he said, “Along with Lord Ram, we need Lakshman ji too — which is why we have come to Lakshmanpuri (an old name of Lucknow, which is fabled to have been founded by Ram’s younger brother Lakshman).” He plans to travel across the country and establish the “Gau Dhvaj (flag for the cow)” in all states, he added.

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‘UP tops beef export despite Yogi, Tirupati laddu probe delayed’ 

Stating that the central government has to formulate a law for banning cow slaughter, the Jyotirmath shankaracharya said he, for the time, has left his ‘math’ for the sole purpose of convincing the government.

“It is surprising, Mahant Yogi Adityanath is the chief minister of UP…despite this, UP is exporting maximum beef… The BJP first opposed my yatra — which surprised me,” he said.

“We were stopped in Nagaland, but we will still visit Nagaland. This is the dual character of the BJP — which has surprised me,” he said. “Shakaracharyas do not belong to any party. Minorities cannot say that eating cows is their right. If this is the case, they should shift to a country with sharia law.”

Speaking on the Tirupati laddu prasadam row, Avimukteshwaranand said that crores of people received prasadam containing beef fat.

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu, on September 18, alleged that animal fat was used in preparing the laddus part of the Tirupati prasadam during the regime of his predecessor Jagan Mohan Reddy, triggering a massive row. Reddy, however, called the allegations “heinous” and “raw lies”, which, he said, the CM levelled for political gains.

On the issue, the Jyotirmath shankaracharya said, “People are taking votes of Hindus but betraying Hindus. They are taking votes and still resorting to cow slaughter… this will not be tolerated. We are leaving our ‘math’ to ensure this situation does not crop up in the future.”

Avimukteshwaranand said the government would have to formulate a law to stop cow slaughter. “When ‘one nation one election’ is under discussion in this country, why do we have different laws for ‘gau mata’ across states?” he questioned.

The Jyotirmath shankaracharya also said it was taking too long to form a special investigative committee to probe into the allegations of beef fat and fish oil in the ghee used to prepare the prasadam at Tirupati.

“You think this is a small issue? A probe should have already started. What is happening? Why is it taking so much time? There is an attempt to violate the purity of crores of Hindus,” he told media persons.

Asking why it is taking so long for the Andhra Pradesh government to form a special investigative team to probe the matter, he wondered how long it would take for the SIT to complete the probe when, in the first place, it was taking so long to form it. “Does the government want the issue to move to the backburner?” he asked.

(Edited by Madhurita Goswami)

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