Youth Congress Protests Alleged Irregularities At Ujjain's Mahakal Temple

UJJAIN (Madhya Pradesh): The Youth Congress on Tuesday staged a unique protest against alleged irregularities in VIP protocol darshan, the Bhasma Aarti system and alleged corruption at the Mahakaleshwar Temple.

Party workers attended the public grievance hearing at the Collector's office wearing placards around their necks and submitted a complaint as ordinary devotees.

Led by district senior vice-president Pritesh Sharma, the delegation alleged that the VIP protocol darshan system was causing inconvenience to common devotees.

Youth Congress leader Mukul Guraiya said the placards carried messages such as, "I oppose protocol darshan", "I oppose the sale of Bhasma Aarti passes", "I oppose corruption in Mahakal Temple", and "I oppose influencers entering the sanctum sanctorum".

The organisation claimed it had earlier submitted a memorandum to the temple administration highlighting the alleged irregularities, but no action had been taken.

Claiming that their concerns had not been addressed by the temple administration, the workers approached the public grievance hearing and submitted a written complaint to the officer in charge.

The memorandum alleged that corruption was taking place in the temple's functioning and claimed that, as opposition representatives, their complaints were being ignored.

They said they had therefore chosen to approach the public hearing as ordinary devotees seeking redressal.

Among those present during the protest were Sevadal president Vijay Borana, former NSUI district president Ambar Mathur, Block Congress president Durgesh Dhawan and Ghatiya Assembly president Sher Singh Chauhan, among others.

Bhasma Aarti employees shifted

A significant administrative reshuffle was carried out at the Mahakaleshwar Temple following the first Shravan procession on Monday. Bhasma Aarti in-charge Ashish Dubey and assistant Sanjay Singh Parihar alias Sanju Bana were relieved of their responsibilities and replaced by Mahendra Kakde as the new in-charge and Sawan Prajapati as assistant.

Kakde had been serving as assistant in-charge of the temple store, while Prajapati was posted in the protocol section.

Dubey, who had overseen the Bhasma Aarti arrangements for a considerable period, along with assistant Sanju Bana, has now been appointed as inspectors in the Mahakal Mahalok. The sudden decision, taken on Monday evening, came as a surprise to many.

At around 3 am on the first Monday of Shravan, Collector Raushan Kumar Singh and Temple Administrator Pratham Kaushik visited the shrine to inspect the Bhasma Aarti arrangements.

They remained at the temple for a considerable time and also interacted with staff and devotees. Temple sources indicated that developments during the inspection led to the administrative changes in the Bhasma Aarti management.