New Delhi, February 22 – Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav launched a scathing attack on the Uttar Pradesh government on Sunday, over a First Information Report (FIR) filed against 'Shankaracharya' Swami Avimukteshwaranand Saraswati, accusing the administration of acting with malicious intent to embarrass and humiliate the Hindu seer.
Addressing a press conference at the party office, Akhilesh Yadav claimed that the state government, instead of making amends for its irresponsible conduct during the Magh Mela, has resorted to raking up a 20-year-old case to trouble the 'Shankaracharya' of Jyotirmath (Uttarakhand).
"What treatment is being meted out to our revered Shankaracharya ji by the government? This exercise that you are witnessing these days – some people have suddenly set out to show respect," he said, while cautioning that it was inappropriate to stoop to this level of accusation.
In the FIR filed against Swami Avimukteshwaranand, the seer and some of his disciples have been accused of sexually abusing and exploiting two minor children at his ashram, repeatedly for more than a year.
"If the complainant is a disciple of another saint, then it was a mistake to withdraw a previously filed case," Akhilesh remarked.
The SP chief said that first the Shankaracharya was prevented from bathing in the river Ganga during the Magh Mela, and when he protested, the state government acted in a manner that reeks of malice and vengeance.
"Shankaracharya Swami Avimukteshwaranand sat on protest for several days despite the cold weather, but the administration did not treat him with respect. The entire incident appears to be motivated by political malice, and that the government has now lost its credibility among the public," he said.
Akhilesh also accused the ruling party of vitiating the state's atmosphere ahead of the elections.
The SP supremo also lashed out at the Yogi government on other issues, claiming mismanagement and irregularities in various infrastructure projects.
Akhilesh said that his government had initiated plans to clean the Gomti and Hindon rivers, but the current dispensation is not pursuing development projects.
"The underground pipeline project is a pipeline of corruption," he said while cornering the govt over escalating costs of developmental projects.
Taking a dig at Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath's proposed visit to Japan, he said, "He's going to Japan, but not Kyoto."
