The planned visit of president Pranab Mukherjee to Kedarnath has once again sparked debate on the practice of according special “VIP” privilege to politicians and other “dignitaries” at the Char Dham and other shrines in Uttarakhand. The general public opinion in the mountainous region is that though certain level of facilitation could be accorded to a constitutional post holder in exceptional circumstances but this should not be facilitated to the detriment of pilgrims visiting the shrine especially considering the general religious belief about all devotees being equal in front of the lord.
Earlier the planned visit of the president to Kedarnath during June this year had to be dropped due to inclement weather preventing helicopter travel to the high altitude Kedarnath area. This time, elaborate arrangements are being made for the security and convenience of the president. However, a section of the religious fraternity and Teerth Purohits among others, have been expressing concern at the rise in “VIP” culture at Char Dham and other shrines especially in recent years. Swami Ram Teertha Ashram Samiti head Kaka Hariom who had headed a public awareness march from Badrinath to Rishikesh earlier this year against changes brought about by "commercialisation in pilgrimage activities", is of the opinion that commercialisation and ‘VIP’ culture in pilgrimage is not in line with ancient traditions and the spirit of pilgrimage.
It should be mentioned here that traditions observed for centuries in Char Dham shrines like the Badrinath temple are being influenced by ‘VIP culture’ for some years now, much to the frustration of devotees and annoyance of Teerth Purohits. Recent years have seen a spurt in such ‘VIP culture’ on the Char Dham Yatra with reported instances of traditions being ‘relaxed’ for the convenience of national and State level politicians, elected public representatives, those holding constitutional post and affluent industrialists much to the chagrin of numerous other pilgrims. Earlier on May 11 this year, it was reported that during the reopening of the portals of Badrinath shrine to the public, Garhwal MP and former CM BC Khanduri was reportedly allowed into the sanctum sanctorum through a side entrance before reopening of the main portals.
Some members of the priest-fraternity aver that there have been cases of ancient traditions being brushed aside especially in recent years for the convenience of ‘VIPs’. Earlier, on April 24 in 2015, it was reported that on the occasion of reopening of Kedarnath shrine to the public after the six-month winter closure, instead of opening the temple's main portals to the public as per tradition, the 'VIP' door of the temple was reportedly opened first for the convenience of the Congress national vice president Rahul Gandhi and a select few participating in ‘special Puja’. Pilgrims who are affected by such ‘VIP’ visits complain that devotees who stand in queue for hours in the cold, are delayed and later get just a few moments to pay their obeisance to the deity during ‘VIP’ visits.