Agra : Ayodhya-based seer Jagat Guru Paramhans Das was stopped by police in Agra city on Tuesday after he announced that he would visit the Taj Mahal to perform “shudhikaran” (purification) with mantras on the occasion of Akshay Tritya. Das later sat on an indefinite “hunger” strike demanding that he be allowed entry Taj Mahal.
Agitated with the police action, Das said that while members of another community are allowed inside the monument wearing skull caps, he was stopped because he was wearing saffron robes. Later in the day, Das released a video claiming that he had come to Agra on an invitation by the Archeological Survey of India (ASI) chief. “I was stopped by government officials when I was on my way to the Taj Mahal. Initially, I was taken to various places in the city and was later dropped at a guest house at Keetham lake on the outskirts of the city,” he said.
He said he will continue to sit on a “hunger” strike until he is allowed to enter the Taj Mahal, which he claims is an ancient Shiva temple known as ‘Tejo Mahalaya’. “I will not return to Ayodhya till then,” he added.
On April 26, Das, along with his disciples, was denied entry to the Taj Mahal as he was carrying a ‘brahmdanda’ (a wooden stick carried by Hindu seers who are title holders). Saints and Hindu activists across Agra had expressed anger at the Archeological Survey of India’s decision to turn them away. Later, ASI officials apologised to the seer.
Source : Times of India
