Reacting to the High Court having stayed the removal of Mahant Balwant Singh from the post of the secretary of Nirmal Panchayati Akhada, the acting in-charge of akhada Sri Mahant Gyandev Vedantacharya said that Singh has been taking the court and the people for a ride. “I respect the order of the court but I would move court too at the appropriate time with the relevant documents to lay bare the reality,” he said. Notably, Singh had been removed from the post he was holding by a decision taken at the working committee meeting of the akhada on July 25 on the charge of his having sold out parts of with the lands of the akhada to the realtors. However, Singh had challenged the order in the High Court following which the court stayed the order.
Mahant Gyandev further said that the meeting called by Singh on August 5 is illegal. He had neither called the meeting nor approved it, he said in a statement issued to the media.
While speaking to The Pioneer, he said, “Just as India has its constitution the Akhadas also have their own constitutions. As per the constitution of Nirmal Panchayati Akhada, we convened a meeting on July 23 on behalf of the management and removed Singh from the post of the secretary on account of his misdeeds. Challenging the constitution is a folly. All the rights of inclusion or expulsion are vested in the president. With the consent of the saints and staffers, I removed Singh while exercising my power as the head of the akhada. The stay order has been managed through deceit,” he said.