New Delhi, July 21 (IANS): Swami Govindananda Saraswati on Sunday launched a fierce attack on Swami Avimukteshwaranand, purportedly the Shankaracharya of the Jyotish Peeth in Uttarakhand, terming him a "liar" and "cheat and a "toy" of the Congress.
He also vehemently criticised Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra for addressing Swami Avimukteshwaranand as Shankaracharya, demanding she issue an apology within 15 days, otherwise he would initiate legal action against her.
"There is no doubt that he (Swami Avimukteshwaranand) is a Congress toy if you doubt it, I have evidence," Swami Govindananda Saraswati told IANS.
"I am sitting in Delhi and challenging Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and I am challenging Mukteshwaranand who is also sitting in Delhi.
Whenever I raised questions against him, he always used to escape, but finally, he got caught," he said.
Showing a letter from Priyanka Gandhi, on her official Congress letterhead, to Swami Avimukteshwaranand, Swami Govindananda Saraswati asked how she had addressed Avimukteshwaranand as a Shankaracharya.
Swami Govindananda Saraswati went on to claim that Swami Avimukteshwaranand, whose coronation as the new Shankaracharya of the Jyotish Peeth was stopped by the Supreme Court in October 2022, had submitted Priyanka Gandhi's letter to the apex court, contending that the Congress leader and her party had accepted him as he Shankaracharya, so he should be given the legal right too.
"See how foolish this is.." he said, questioning Priyanka Gandhi and the Congress' competence to declare Swami Avimukteshwaranand as a Shankaracharya.
He also accused Swami Avimukteshwaranand of lying to the Supreme Court that everyone recognised him as a Shankaracharya, and called him a "criminal" and a "cheat".
Swami Govindananda Saraswati said that the Shankaracharya of Puri was also shocked by Swami Avimukteshwaranand's moves and had filed a case against him, stating that he had declared or endorsed anyone for the post.
Accusing Priyanka Gandhi and the Congress of "playing games" on the issue, he said: "I will give a 15-day ultimatum to Priyanka Gandhi Vadra for a public apology, otherwise, I will file a case against her."