LUCKNOW: Amid the ongoing controversy over the theft of donation money at the Ram temple in Ayodhya, one of the 15 trustees of the Shree Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust, Mahant Dinendra Das of Nirmohi Akhada, was removed.
Raja Ramchandracharya Das Maharaj will now assume his responsibility.
However, Nirmohi Akhada has moved the Supreme Court seeking to increase the representation of the Akhada in the Trust.
Dinendra Das is an ex-officio member of the Ram Mandir Trust by virtue of being the Mahant of the Ayodhya branch of Nirmohi Akhada. The decision to remove Mahant Dinendra Das from Nirmohi Akhada was taken in a meeting of the Akhada held on July 5.
However, this matter came to light only on Sunday.
The meeting held on July 5 was chaired by Raja Ramchandracharya Das Maharaj, the President of Nirmohi Akhada.
As per the sources, Dinendra Das was removed in the wake of certain allegations, including indiscipline, non-compliance with the rules of the Akhada, and concealing an important document against him.
Following this, the sarpanchs and mahants present in the meeting agreed to the proposal to remove him from the post of Mahant, said the sources.
While reacting to the decision of the Akhada to remove him from the post of Mahant, Dinendra Das said: Nirmohi Akhada is a panchayati math. Whatever decision the panches take is valid. There are 19 panches in Maharaj Sadan.
He claimed that of 19, 13 panches were in his favour.
According to information received from sources, a meeting of the Panches of Shri Panch Ramanandi Nirmohi Akhada was held in Delhi on July 5. A total of 5 resolutions were passed in this meeting. One resolution was also to remove Mahant Dinendra Das of the Ayodhya branch from his post.
This resolution was proposed by Raja Ramchandracharya Das Mahara and was agreed upon by 8 saints. 13 members were invited to the meeting. Of these, 8 members were present, while four gave their consent online.
However, Mahant Dinendra Das did not participate in the meeting.
Mahant Dinendra Das has been stating that despite the mention of Nirmohi Akhada in the Supreme Court's decision, he has not been given any important responsibility in the Trust.
He had said that if he got the responsibility of managing the worship arrangements in Ram Mandir, then he was ready for it. Mahant Dinendra Das stated that currently, the worship and rituals at Ram Mandir were being conducted according to the Ramanandi tradition.
He visits the Temple daily to monitor the darshan arrangements. There has been a significant improvement in the management. The system for counting and depositing offerings has also become more transparent than before.
Dinendra Das joined the sadhu community at the age of 10.
Nirmohi Akhada was the most important party in the Ram Janmabhoomi legal dispute. Dinendra Das is the only resident saint member from Ayodhya in the Ram Mandir Trust.
In 2019, the Supreme Court, in its verdict in favour of the Ram Mandir, had given special instructions that Nirmohi Akhada should be given representation in the newly formed trust.
Under this directive, Mahant Dinendra Das was made a trustee. Nirmohi Akhada is the main Bairagi Akhada of the Ramanandi Vaishnav sect. It has been one of the most important parties in the Ram Janmabhoomi dispute in Ayodhya.
