Kedarnath Temple: Delhi Trust Offers to Remove 'Dham' from Its Title; Says Won't Back out from Building Replica

Shri Kedarnath Dham Delhi Trust decided to remove the word 'Dham' from its name. It asserted its resolve to go ahead with its project to build the replica of the Kedarnath temple in Delhi and expressed its readiness to fight a legal battle if needed.

New Delhi: Shri Kedarnath Dham Delhi Trust founder Surendra Rautela on Wednesday asserted he will not back out from building the replica of the Kedarnath temple here and is ready to fight a legal battle if needed.

The Badrinath-Kedarnath Temple Committee (BKTC), the apex body that oversees the shrines and temples in Uttarakhand, has threatened to take legal action against the Delhi Trust for planning to replicate the original Kedarnath temple here in Burari.

The prospect of replicating the holy shrine, which is among the four sacred shrines comprising the Char Dham namely Kedarnath, Badrinath, Gangotri and Yamunotri, has also received objection from the Uttarakhand priests. Rautela said that he has decided to remove the word 'Dham' from his Trust's name to avoid confusion but will not back out from building the temple for the devotees here.

"We are not the first ones to build the temple modelled after Kedarnath. It is also there in Indore and Mumbai. If they (BKTC) wants to take legal action they should do it against all," Rautela told PTI. "We have not done anything wrong, we are doing good work for the Hindus and the Sanatan Dharma. We will continue to build the temple irrespective of the legal challenge," he added.

Rautela informed that the Kedarnath temple in Delhi will be built from donation money collected by his trust and will be ready in the next two to three years.

BKTC chairperson Ajendra Ajay said they have filed a police complaint against the Shri Kedarnath Dham Delhi Trust in Uttarakhand for allegedly using an online application promising devotees to arrange online 'darshan' of the Kedarnath Dham in Delhi. "We have taken legal opinion and are considering different options to stop the construction of the Kedarnath temple in Delhi. Our objection from the Shri Kedarnath Dham Delhi Trust is that they are using our name to collect money from people to build the temple," Ajay told PTI.

He added the BKTC has received several complaints against Shri Kedarnath Dham Delhi Trust for allegedly using an online application to book Kedarnath 'darshan' for devotees in the national capital.

"This is wrong and by doing so they are cheating and misguiding them," Ajay said, adding they have filed a police complaint in the matter. Earlier this month, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami attended the 'bhumi pujan' ceremony of the temple here.