Swami Avimukteshwaranand Saraswati of the Jyotish Peeth, during the Magh Mela, at Sangam in Prayagraj, on January 20, 2026.
| Photo Credit: PTI
The Congress on Tuesday (January 20, 2026) criticised the Uttar Pradesh government over a notice issued to Swami Avimukteshwaranand Saraswati, seeking an explanation for his use of the title of Shankaracharya.
Addressing a press conference, Congress media and publicity department head Pawan Khera questioned whether any government authority had the right to challenge the status of a Hindu seer.
Mr. Khera said the action marked an unprecedented intrusion into religious traditions and accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of double standards.
“Those who once asked Muslims — kaagaz dikhao [show papers] — are now asking the same of Hinduism’s top seer,” the Congress leader said.
The remarks came amid a controversy at the Prayagraj Magh Mela, where Swami Avimukteshwaranand was stopped and his followers manhandled by the police on Sunday while proceeding to take a holy dip at the Sangam on the occasion of Mauni Amavasya.
Following the incident, he sat on a protest outside his camp for the last 48 hours, seeking an apology from senior mela and police officials.
Subsequently, the mela administration issued a notice asking the seer to clarify how he was using the title of Shankaracharya of the Jyotish Peeth.
“Instead of apologising, officials served him a notice in the middle of night, questioning his status as a Shankaracharya,” Mr. Khera said, adding, “Does any district magistrate, police commissioner, Chief Minister or Prime Minister have the authority to question the status of a Shankaracharya?”
Mr. Khera alleged that the action followed the seer’s criticism of the Narendra Modi government on issues such as cow slaughter, the consecration of the Ram temple at Ayodhya prematurely and the alleged mismanagement of the Kumbh Mela.
“As long as he did not question the government, he was accepted as a Shankaracharya. Now, papers are being demanded from him,” he said.
Calling the notice a violation of law, Mr. Khera accused the Uttar Pradesh government of arrogance and said the episode had drawn widespread attention among Hindus in India and abroad. “What is happening is unprecedented. Every single Hindu across the world is watching what is happening in Uttar Pradesh. These people are sinners. They will never be forgiven,” he said.
Published – January 20, 2026 08:17 pm IST
