BJP leader and Union Minister for Environment and Forests and Information and Broadcasting Prakash Javadekar on Friday jumped headlong into the ongoing row over the Shankaracharya’s refusal to climb the chariots during the last Rath Yatra, as ordained by tradition, and remarked that the State Government should not interfere in religious affairs.
“In a secular country, the Government should not interfere in the religious matters of any community,” Javadekar said in a veiled attack on the Naveen Patnaik-headed Government on his arrival in the temple town to have darshan of lord Jagannath at the Gundicha temple.
“Conventions and traditions must be observed in religious matters,” he said.
He said it would not be possible on his part to meet Puri Shankaracharya Nischalananda Saraswati this time because of his tight schedule, but he would certainly try and meet him at a later date.
Pradesh Congress Committee president Jayadev Jena on Friday told reporters in Bhubaneswar that the issue of the Shankaracharya being hurt by the Government should be resolved through a joint discussion between the Shree Jagannath Temple Administration, the Government and the Shankaracharya.