All are equal in the eyes of law but unfortunately, discrimination is prevalent in all spheres of life. Yet the worst place for discrimination is the religious places, as mandirs are the home of Bhagwan, a sacred place unlike every other place on the earth. But unfortunately, even in thou sanctum sanctorum powerful and rich people exploit different ways to accumulate God’s blessings. But the recent steps taken by the Uttarakhand CM have done away with this VIP culture in Bhagwan’s Darshan.
Uttarakhand government shuns VIP culture in Bhagwan’s Darshan
The Char Dham Yatra which is a very revered religious site for the Hindus will now have equality for all the devotees. The rich, powerful and connected people who earlier entertained VIP culture created inconvenience for common people. But, the Uttarakhand government has announced that they will do away with this VIP culture in Char Dham Yatra and will ease up the inconvenience caused to the common devotees.
The Uttarakhand CM Pushkar Singh Dhami announced abolishing the long-standing practice of making special arrangements for the Ministers, Bureaucrats and other VIPs at the Char Dham shrines. He said, “We are abolishing the system of VIP Darshan at Char Dhams. There will be no separate categories or VIP system for having darshans at Char Dham anymore. We have made it the same for everyone”.
We've requested everyone to get their health check-ups done. I appeal to everyone to not begin their Yatra (Char Dham Yatra) unless they're completely healthy. Secondly, there used to be a VIP category darshan. We've now kept it same for all. There'll be no VIP: Uttarakhand CM pic.twitter.com/F30YL4vscb
— ANI UP/Uttarakhand (@ANINewsUP) May 13, 2022
Read More: All non-hindus embarking on char dham yatra will be probed thoroughly
The CM has been taking steps to streamline the process of Char Dham Yatra as it was re-started after the Covid pandemic disruption. He said, “the Char Dham yatra is our challenge, and the government is making every effort to streamline it”. Moreover, he had deputed two cabinet ministers Dhan Singh Rawat and Subodh Uniyal to oversee the yatra arrangements at Kedarnath and Badrinath, respectively.
Read More: Char Dham will not be handled by the government anymore, but by Bhagwan’s Bhakts
Similar Step by the Yogi Adityanath Administration
Uttar Pradesh is led by a devoted Hindu Sanyasi Yogi Adityanath and hence he knows how to detach from the material world and be a devotee in presence of lord. He abolished this use of material things to gain VIP entries in the Ayodhya temples. He visited Ayodhya on the occasion of Ram Navami and announced that “VIPs will not visit Ayodhya on Ashtami and Navami during Ram Navami. If VIP visits, they will not be given the facilities under the protocol system”. Further, he ordered the Nagar Nigam to stop levying tax on mutts, temples, and religious places.
Ayodhya | Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath orders Nagar Nigam to stop the levying of tax on mutts, temples, and religious places. Now mutts, temples, and religious places need not pay commercial tax.
(File photo) pic.twitter.com/73OYUvMkyQ
— ANI UP/Uttarakhand (@ANINewsUP) April 1, 2022
Earlier the honourable judges had observed this VIP culture and spoke against it. Justice SM Subramaniam in a case related to a VIP visit to temples said that if any VIP causes inconvenience to devotees, then he is committing a religious sin. Further, he called that “God alone is VIP”.
God made everyone equal and it should be practiced like that especially in religious sites like temples. Hence, these steps by Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh governments are truly making the religious shrines free of any discrimination and should be followed in every religious sites in India.