Congress stirs row, says BJP leaders entered Kedarnath temple premises with shoes on

By PTI

DEHRADUN: The live telecast of prayers by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Kedarnath and the presence of BJP leaders in the temple premises with their shoes on has kicked up a controversy, with the Congress terming it a violation of traditions.

The BJP leaders were seen wearing their shoes on in the Kedarnath temple complex.

Objecting to the live telecast, Congress general secretary Harish Rawat in a tweet said it set a wrong precedent.

“All devotees are equal in the eyes of Lord Shiva. How can people be stopped now from entering the sanctum sanctorum of the temple with their cameras or mobile phones and recording things inside it. Gradually, people will break other traditions as well,” Rawat said.

After this an old video of state Congress president Ganesh Godiyal surfaced on social media, in which he is seen talking to a TV journalist inside the Kedarnath temple after the 2013 disaster with his shoes on.

In a quick reaction to this, Godiyal tweeted all BJP leaders were wearing their shoes in the temple premises during the prime minister’s programme on November 5, whereas he went inside the temple wearing his shoes at the time of the disaster when it was cluttered with thousands of dead bodies.

According to Godiyal the two instances cannot be equated as they happened in different circumstances.

Backing Godiyal’s argument, Harish Rawat shared his tweet, saying pulling the bodies out of the sanctum sanctorum of the temple after the 2013 deluge was the first and foremost priority.