The Chief Minister Harish Rawat leading the immersion of the mortal remains of those who perished in the disaster 2013 in Ganga has sparked a row with the BJP and a section of the priest fraternity slamming Rawat for the right timing not being adhered to for the immersion. While the BJP MlA from Haridwar Madan Kaushik said that the CM in his eagerness to get mileage out of the immersion ahead of the election had paid scant attention to the rituals bound to be followed as per the scriptures while the section of the priest community criticised CM, saying that the mortal remains had been consigned in the Ganga after the sun had set in contradiction of the scriptures.
However Ganga Mahasabha office bearers defended the CM, saying that such a noble act should not be subjected to criticism.
President of Yuva Teerth Purohit Mahasabha Ujjawal Pandit has hit out at the CM, saying that the ashes immersed in Ganga after the sundown stood contrary to what the scriptures lay down. “This would hardly help the departed get salvation of soul,” he added.
Kaushik said that the CM being unaware of the deeper nuances of the scriptures had robbed the ceremony done with fanfare of any importance.
“The matter was serious and things warranted the CM to be more serious,” he said. Defending the CM on the matter, president of Ganga Sabha Purushotam Gandhi said that the immersion ceremony was held after the Aaarti was over and the idol of Mother Ganga was removed from the ghat.
“The details of the rituals are not as important as the fact that the Mother descended to impart salvation to one and all,” he said.