Shankarcharya Avimukteshwaranand row: Ayodhya GST deputy commissioner resigns backing ModiYogi govt; breaks down in tearful video

LUCKNOW: A senior tax officer in UP resigned Tuesday to back PM Narendra Modi, Union home minister Amit Shah and CM Yogi Adityanath, countering a protest exit by another officer the day before and deepening a political-religious standoff tied to Swami Avimukteshwaranand.

Ayodhya GST deputy commissioner Prashant Singh sent his resignation to the governor, saying remarks by Avimukteshwaranand against the PM, CM and home minister had hurt him deeply. Singh said he would turn to social work after quitting and appeared tearful in a video that spread on social media.

Singh’s resignation followed that of Bareilly city magistrate Alankar Agnihotri, who quit Monday in protest against the new UGC regulations and alleged disrespect to Avimukteshwaranand by Prayagraj authorities. Officials tried to persuade Agnihotri to withdraw, but he refused and was seen carrying posters critical of BJP.

In his letter, GST officer Singh wrote: “Govt provided me with a job because of which I am able to look after my family. I, therefore, believe it is my ‘rajkiya dharma’ to follow the state employees’ rules and register my protest against the insult of the state govt, the CM and PM.”

He described Avimukteshwaranand’s comments on Adityanath as “against the Constitution and democracy”, and alleged the seer was enticing govt employees to oppose the administration.

The rift traces to Magh Mela in Prayagraj, where police allegedly stopped Avimukteshwaranand and followers from proceeding in a chariot for a ritual dip in the Ganga on Mauni Amavasya (Jan 18). The seer publicly assailed the CM afterwards.

Next day, mela administration issued a notice asking why Avimukteshwaranand projected himself as Shankaracharya of Jyotish Peeth despite a Supreme Court order barring enthronement until an appeal is decided. Since then, Avimukteshwaranand has sat on protest outside his camp at the mela site, giving up food and water, demanding apologies from senior mela officials and police.

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