International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) has announced yet again to organize an untimely Rath Yatra in Gwalior of Madhya Pradesh. As per the announcement made by ISKCON on its social media pages, it will organise the Rath Yatra in Gwalior & Canada on June 24. Puri King Gajapati Maharaj Dibyasingh Deb condemned the announcement.
Chief administrator of Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) Ranjan Kumar Das informed that ISKCON will be asked not to conduct the ‘untimely’ Rath Yatra. “The annual chariot festival should be celebrated across the globe only on the Shukla Dwitiya Tithi observing Hindu traditions & scriptures. Therefore, the Sri Jagannath Temple Authority (SJTA) will act if an unseasonal Rath Yatra is held anywhere in the world,” he said.
Meanwhile, people from all walks of life in Odisha expressed displeasure over the announcement of the Rath Yatra of ISKCON. Many even expressed their anger calling for Protest against ISKCON if it goes ahead with its unilateral antics of conducting Bhagwan Jagannath Rath yatra other than on the prescribed Tithi of “Shukla Dwitiya Tithi”.
It has been alleged that ISKCON is doing it to please Foreigners & catering to them only since June 24, 2023, falls on Saturday which is basically a weekend & it will be a holiday for foreigners working elsewhere.
Earlier in 2020 and 2019 too, ISKCON held the unseasonal Rath Yatra in Mumbai. ISKCON was strongly criticized for its untimely Rath Yatra. It is to be noted here that the annual Rath Yatra in Puri this year will be held on June 20 while the Bahuda Yatra to be held on June 28.
‘Past Controversies & Complaints against ISKCON’
FIR filed against ISKCON Ludhiana official Hurting religious sentiments of Hindus
BJP Odisha registered FIR on Sept 9, 2019 against Iskcon for passing abusive remarks on Lord Jagannath temple’s World Famous Prasad & Bhog . As per complaint by BJPOdisha unit, Iskcon official Amit garg allegedly said Lord Jagannath of Puri is not real thus hurting Religious sentiments of Hindus.
ISKCON has this knack of forcibly trying to conduct Rath yatra without following due traditions & tithis which is often seen as a motive of Hijacking Rath Yatra of Lord Jagannath Puri by many.
In Feb 2020, Protests were carried out in Odisha over the conduct of Rath Yatra by International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) in Mumbai. Activists of Jagannath Sena staged a demonstration in front of Jagannath Temple in Puri and burnt the effigy of Mumbai ISKCON head Radhanath Swami Maharaj.
The Jagannath Sena also filed a complaint against the ISKCON head at Puri Singhadwar Police Station and demanded his arrest and ban on ISKCON in India as per an OTV News Article
ISKCON Ludhiana Postpones Plans for Rathyatra after 3 complaints against it & massive protests
As per Sambad, Odisha’s leading daily news paper Article, during Nov 2019, The International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) decided to defer its plan to organise Rath Yatra in November in Ludhiana of Punjab after 3 FIRs were lodged against it followed by massive protests across Odisha.
In a press release, the ISKCON said, “Respecting the mood, sentiments and request of Sri Jagannath Seva Samiti, ISKCON Ludhiana has decided to postpone the November 17, 2019 Rath Yatra festival to the Ashada Sukla Ditiya of 2020 to coincide with the Rath Yatra festival day in Puri.”
Govt of Odisha ordered ISKCON to stop the Construction of “ANOTHER” illegal Lord Jagannath Temple in Puri after it hid legal dispute of Land of 30 acres
Back in Jan 2016, As per a news article in Times of India, the Puri district administration asked ISKCON to stop construction of their proposed Jagannath Temple at Sipasarubali in Puri.
Iskcon’s proposed temple ran into rough weather after BJP senior leader Bijoy Mohapatra alleged that the religious outfit wanted to build another Jagannath Temple in Puri, which would hurt the religious sentiments of Hindus.
“I have asked the Puri district collector to examine whether the Puri Konark Development Authority (PKDA) followed legitimate procedures before approving Iskcon’s building plan for the proposed temple,” Singhdeo said.
PKDA planning member Lingaraj Prasad Pattnaik said Iskcon had suppressed information about the legal dispute of the land. “We found that another man had staked claim to the land and had a few years ago moved a court in Puri against Iskcon. Iskcon applied for approval of the building plan for the temple in October 2012. The plan was approved in April 2015. PKDA approved the plan only after getting the no-objection certificate from the Puri sub-collector. Neither Iskcon nor anyone else had brought to the notice of the PKDA the dispute over the land’s ownership title,” Pattanik said.
Odisha High Court Bars ISKCON illegal Jagannath Temple construction marred by Legal land dispute
As per a news article published by Telegraph India News, Orissa High Court imposed restrictions on the construction of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness’s proposed temple project in Puri.
In an interim order, the court also gave a free hand to the Puri Konark Development Authority to go ahead with the proceedings initiated by it against Iskcon.
