Watch: Ex Uttarakhand CM Trivendra Rawat flees from Kedarnath without darshan, priests shout “Go back”

In what is being seen as a sign of rising resentment against the ruling BJP in the hilly state, Uttarakhand, former chief minister Trivendra Singh Rawat had to face the wrath of priests (teerth purohits) in Kedarnath on Monday.

Hooted by priests, the former CM was forced to return from Kedarnath without darshan. Priests showed black flags and shouted slogans against the ex-Chief Minister.

“Go back, go back,” shouted the priests. The ex-CM can be seen returning in the video that was shared by the ABP Ganga journalist, Ajit Singh Rathi.

Priests of the Hindu shrine were angry with Rawat as the Chardham Devasthanam Board (CDB) was created through legislation during his tenure as the chief minister of the state, and the priests feel the board is an infringement of their traditional rights over the temples and have been demanding its dissolution.

Under the pressure of the priests, present chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami had to constitute a committee headed by Manohar Kant Dhyani to hear all sides and find a solution. The panel has submitted its interim report to the state government.

The CD Board, which is chaired by the chief minister of Uttarakhand controls the management of 51 temples in the state, including Kedarnath, Badrinath, Gangotri and Yamunotri.

“We have come to the end of our patience on Devasthanam Board now. We were advised to remain patient at our meeting with Dhami on September 11 and we were following him. But we cannot remain silent any more,” Kedarnath teerth purohit Santosh Trivedi was quoted as saying by the media.

“We have now decided to launch an aggressive agitation on the issue of Devasthanam board. Not letting Trivendra Singh Rawat visit the temple for darshan was part of it,” he said.