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Shobha Yatra: Ayodhya seer stopped from entering Haryana's Nuh, sits on 'hunger strike'

Aug 28, 2023 01:33 PM IST

The VHP and Bajrang Dal insisted that they would go ahead with planned procession, despite the Nuh district administration denied them permission for the yatra.

Jagadguru Paramhans Acharya, a Hindu seer from Ayodhya in Uttar Pradesh, sat on an indefinite “hunger strike” at the Sohna toll plaza after he was stopped from reaching Nuh, where the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) called for aB raj Mandal Jalabhishek Yatra on Monday, a month after its first procession triggered communal clashes and left several people dead.

Jagadguru Paramhans Achary, a Hindu seer from Ayodhya in Uttar Pradesh (Twitter/ANI)
Jagadguru Paramhans Achary, a Hindu seer from Ayodhya in Uttar Pradesh (Twitter/ANI)

Speaking to news agency ANI, Acharya said, “We had brought the soil of Shri Ram Janmabhoomi and the Jal of Saryu river to pay homage to the Bajrang Dal workers who were killed and were to return after performing Jalabhishek with the Jal of Saryu river. There was a convoy of vehicles and people with me. Upon learning that Section 144 has been imposed, I cut short the convoy.”

The VHP and Bajrang Dal insisted that they would go ahead with their planned procession, despite the Nuh district administration denying them permission for the yatra. The earlier procession, on July 31, was attacked at Nalhar village in Nuh, sparking communal clashes that spread to other parts of Haryana, leading to the death of at least six people.

Acharya further said the police personnel weren't letting the convoy pass or move back. “The administration has stopped us here, they are not allowing us to move ahead nor they are allowing us to go back. So I am doing fast until death. Until I am not allowed to pay homage by performing the Jalabhishek, I will sit here. If they (the administration) will disrespectfully move me somewhere else, I will do fast until death there also,” he said.

He also questioned why people of other religions had never been stopped but “only Hindus are being stopped”. He said, “It is the last Monday of Savan. We are only asking for permission for a few people to peacefully perform the rituals and return right back. It was a one-minute ritual but they are not letting us move.”

Drones, paramilitary forces deployed in Nuh

Surveillance drones, over 2,000 Haryana Police, and around 3,000 central paramilitary forces were deployed even as entry and exit points to Nuh were sealed ahead of VHP’s Braj Mandal Jalabhishek Yatra.

The main road leading to the temple was among those sealed. The Nuh administration earlier suspended internet services and bulk SMSs as a precautionary measure besides imposing prohibitory orders. Schools, colleges, and banks have also been closed.

On Sunday, Khattar cited the violence last month and said it is the responsibility of the government to maintain law and order. “That is why the permission to carry out this yatra was not given.”

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