digital desk- Shankaracharya Swami Avimukteshwarananda of Jyotirmath Peeth reached Ballia during his ‘Govishta Yatra’. Here he performed aarti and worshiped Maharishi Bhrigu in the famous Bhrigu temple. While talking to journalists, he openly expressed his views on everything from spirituality to politics and the burning issues of the country. He bowed to the land of Ballia and called coming here an act of virtue. Shankaracharya told that his ‘Govishta Yatra’ has started from Gorakhpur. This yatra will pass through all the 403 assemblies of Uttar Pradesh. The main objective of this yatra is public awareness. Finally this yatra will again reach Gorakhpur and from there it will go to Lucknow and conclude with a grand programme.

Questions raised on Bengal violence and role of police

Expressing concern over the ongoing post-poll violence in West Bengal, Shankaracharya said that victory and defeat is a normal process in a democracy, but violence is unacceptable. He raised the question that even when central forces are deployed there on a large scale, why is the violence not stopping? Swami Avimukteshwaranand said, “There can be only two reasons for this, either the police do not have the power to stop the violence, or they are deliberately allowing it to happen. It is difficult to believe that the police force is weak, it simply means that all this is happening with the connivance of the government and administration.”

Mention of Mamta Banerjee and Uddhav Thackeray episode

On the demand for Mamata Banerjee’s resignation, he gave the example of former Uddhav government of Maharashtra. Shankaracharya said that Uddhav Thackeray had resigned on moral grounds, on which the Supreme Court later commented that if he had not resigned, his government could have been restored. In view of this legal complication, Mamata Banerjee is not resigning and has made up her mind to fight.

work to tarnish Hindu religion BJP is doing it

Shankaracharya gave a sharp reaction to the organization of fish dishes and Bhandara in the Bengal BJP office. He said that the way coverage is being given to these events, it seems that now this party has started working against the dignity of Hindu religion and tarnishing it. When journalists asked him to compare Yogi Adityanath as Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh and former Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav, he gave a diplomatic and impartial answer. Shankaracharya said, “In the eyes of a saint, both are equal, we do not consider one better or lesser than the other.”