"Swami Avimukteshwaranand is fake; Congress backing him": Swami Govindananda Saraswati Maharaj

New Delhi [India], July 21 : Swami Sri Govindananda Saraswati Maharaj of the Jyotirmath Trust on Sunday came out strongly against Swami Avimukteshwaranand labelling him a "fake baba" and alleging that he has the backing of the Congress party.
"One fake baba named Avimukteshwaranand, the Prime Minister is touching his feet, industrialists like Ambani are welcoming him at their home... Avimukteshwaranand is fake no.1. Forget about Shankaracharya, adding 'sadhu', 'sant' or 'sanyasi' to his name is also inaccurate," he said.
Swami Sri Govindananda Saraswati Maharaj, while addressing a press conference said, "This is Varanasi Court's order. A non-bailable arrest warrant was issued against him and he (Swami Avimukteshwaranand) was declared absconder. For a long time, he didn't visit Varanasi and kept hiding in Madhya Pradesh, upon which we scolded him, after which he filed legal cases against us. We want to tell all of this to the Supreme Court but they keep giving next dates. We want justice."
Avimukteshwaranand Saraswati, who is known as Shankaracharya of the Jyotish Peeth had recently claimed that 228 Kilos of gold had been stolen from Kedarnath, a claim that was rubbished by Swami Govindananda.
"Avimukteshwaranand is killing and kidnapping people, raising questions against the Pran Pratishtha of Lord Ram, he is attending weddings pretending to be a 'Sanyasi'. He is saying that 228 kg of gold in Kedarnath is missing, does he even know the difference between gold and brass, probably not, because he himself is a duplicate. If we keep telling his tales, it may create a problem, but we will probably do that and he can't snatch anything from us, as we are saints who fight for 'dharma'."
Govindananda Saraswati Maharaj further accused the Congress of backing Swami Avimukteshwaranand.
"When our Guruji became 'Brahmleen', these people asked for a letter from the Congress. The Congress issued a letter and Avimukteshwaranand reached the Supreme Court. Priyanka Gandhi Vadra wrote a letter on September 13, 2022, addressing him as revered Sankharachayra Avimukteshwaranand Saraswati Ji. How did Priyanka Gandhi Vadra write a letter addressing Avimukteshwaranand as the Shankaracharya when the Supreme Court had issued a stay?... Will Congress decide who the Shankaracharya is?" he said.
"He is standing against PM Narendra Modi, and who is backing him? Priyanka Gandhi Vadra. Avimukteshwaranand will stand with Rahul Gandhi when he makes anti-Hindu remarks. Why? This letter is the reason. The Congress is playing a game and Avimukteshwaranand is the toy. I want to ask Priyanka Gandhi Vadra that she should either issue a public apology for writing this letter or we will file a contempt in the Supreme Court against her," he added.
Swami Sri Govindananda Saraswati Maharaj also alleged that Avimukteshwaranand had a long criminal record.
"When Varanasi Court issued a non-bailable warrant against him, he did a meeting with lawyers to get bail. In the group of 51 members, everybody got bail, except him. He went to the court secretly without his Sanyasi attire, probably to escape from the media, and surrendered in front of the judge that too cleverly and has been telling lies. He (Swami Avimukteshwaranand) said to the court that I am Shankaracharya and devotees from all over the nation are saddened. We should provide them with dharmic guidance and my arrest could lead to a loss for 'dharma'. He lied by presenting false facts. Is he James Bond or any Avatarpurush? For bail, he went to the Court," he said.
Citing the court order, Swami Sri Govindananda Saraswati Maharaj stated, "It is written in the court order that he got anticipatory bail by paying a fine of Rs 50,000 to the court. There is another court order in which he had to pay Rs 20,000 for the bail. He has a long history of criminal records."
Earlier, Swami Avimukteshwaranand Saraswati had visited Matoshree, the private residence of Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Uddhav Thackeray.