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The Badrinath-Kedarnath Temple Committee on Wednesday dismissed Jyotirmath Shankaracharya Swami Avimukteshwaranand's allegations that 228 kg gold bought for lining the Kedarnath temple's internal walls is missing, and asked him to approach authorities if he had any evidence.
Swami Avimukteshwaranand on Tuesday alleged irregularities in gold plating the internal walls of the temple a few years ago and asked where 228 kg of the precious metal brought for the purpose disappeared.
Temple committee chairman Ajendra Ajay also asked Avimukteshwaranand not to push the "agenda of the Congress" by making false allegations.
The confusion being spread in the media on the gold plating of the sanctum sanctorum of the temple is part of a conspiracy, he alleged.
Ajay said the gold plating of the temple had been done entirely by a donor who had experience in that line of work.
The Shankaracharya's claim that 228-230 kg of gold was brought for lining the walls of the temple has no factual basis, he said.
"The temple's internal walls were earlier covered with silver plates weighing about 228 kg which led some media-persons to the conclusion that the gold plates must also have weighed as much, which is not true. Gold plating is done on copper plates by depositing only a thin layer of gold on them," Ajay said.
"Still, if the Shankaracharya can produce any evidence in support of his charge, he should approach competent authorities," he said in a statement and a video.
Apart from permitting the donor to undertake gold plating of the temple walls appreciating his sentiment and experience in the field, the committee had no role to play in it, Ajay said.
The entire work of buying the gold to inlaying it on the walls was done by the donor, the temple committee chairman said.
Official bills and vouchers of the gold and copper plates installed in the sanctum sanctorum by the donor through his jewellers were submitted to the committee after the completion of the work, he added.
Ajay said no condition was placed before the temple committee by the donor or any firm for this work done as a donation, nor did the donor ask for a certificate under section 80G of the Income Tax Act.
The sanctum sanctorum of the Badrinath Temple was also covered with gold by the same donor in 2005. There was no opposition then, but in the case of Kedarnath, malicious allegations are being made under a well-planned conspiracy, he said.
Ajay said the gold plating work was done under the supervision of experts from the Archaeological Survey of India.
Around 23 kg gold worth Rs 14 crore and 1,001 kg copper worth Rs 29 lakh were used, he said.
Some priests of the Kedarnath temple have released videos demanding a high-level inquiry into the alleged irregularities in the gold lining work.
In videos released to the press by the supporters of Shankaracharya Avimukteshwaranand Saraswati, former president of the Kedar Sabha Kishan Bagwadi, he alleged that along with 528 gold plates, 230 silver plates are also missing.
Vice-president of the Uttarakhand Char Dham Tirtha Purohit Mahapanchayat Santosh Trivedi, who brought the gold issue to the fore in the Kedarnath temple, said he has been raising questions on the quality of gold from the very beginning.