Shankaracharya of Puri Swami Nischalananda Saraswati on Saturday said the Odisha government took a unilateral decision to demolish structures within 75-metre radius of Shree Jagannath Temple and he was not consulted on this important matter.
Terming the ongoing demolition a conspiracy, the seer said the committee headed by former Orissa High Court Judge B.P. Das neither met him nor consulted him.
The committee had suggested clearing the area around the 12th century temple of encroachments for its security.
The Jagannath temple affairs should be regulated by religious processes and mutts’ activities follow similar process, he said.
The seer’s reaction came in the wake of ongoing demolition of the 12th century Emar Mutt, close to the temple. Even as the eviction drive is under way, mutt Mahant Rajgopal Ramanuj Dash has been protesting the move and refused to vacate the structure.
