Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, Yogi Adityanath, has announced that an idol of Maa Saraswati and a statue of Rishi Bhardwaj will be installed at the fort Akbar constructed in Prayagraj.
Yogi also asserted that for the first time since Akbar built the fort, the Akshay Vat and Saraswati Koop will be opened for devotees. He said, “This is the first time Akshay Vat and Saraswati Koop will be opened during the Kumbh Mela. Mughal emperor Akbar commissioned a fort there and that’s why people were not able to offer prayers there.”
PM Modi, during his recent visit to Prayagraj, had announced that the Akshay Vat and the Saraswati Koop should be accessible to the public.
Yogi Adityanath was speaking at the ‘Yuva Kumbh’ inaugurated today in Lucknow.
The saffron-clad Mahant of Gorakh Peeth also said this is the first time that the Kumbh Mela “has been recognised by the UNESCO as the biggest cultural event”. The Saraswati Murthi will be installed before Kumbh and devotees will be able to offer their prayers. The fort is currently under the control of the Army. The authorities say that permission has already been given for the idol and preparations are on for its installations.
Yogi stated, “Bharat is one nation, it has only one Sanskriti. It has only one system of thought. It may have different languages, Jatis, regions, cuisines, complexions, and dialects. Bharat may have been divided politically but it had only one Sanskriti, and that is known by the name of Hindu Sanskriti. We should all be proud of it.” Speaking on Ram Janambhoomi, he said, “there are some people here who were talking about Ram Janambhoomi. This (the construction of Ram Temple) can only be done by us (BJP). No other party can do it.”
Yogi Adityanath’s latest announcement is likely to rile the secular brigade. However, it is unlikely that he will be bothered by it. The installation of the Saraswati Murthi and statue of Rishi Bharadwaj is consistent with the Mahant’s ideological framework. We have elaborated in detail in an earlier article the ideological framework of the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh.
