Swami Avimukteshwaranand Saraswati, on Monday, called the POCSO Act case against him a tactic by the government to divert attention from the demand of ban on cow slaughter.
The Shankaracharya said that he expresses belief in three courts, which are the public, his heart and god, asserting that he has been given clean chits from each of them.
Jyotish Peeth Shankaracharya Swami Avimukteshwaranand Saraswati dismissed the allegations of sexual exploitation of minors as fabricated, noting that his legal team has already informed the court of this stance on Saturday.
The project, estimated at Rs 392.94 crore, has entered its initial phase with soil filling and leveling work already underway. The state government has released the first instalment of Rs 63.39 crore to begin construction.
Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav took a jibe at Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and said that the UP CM must visit Kyoto during his upcoming Japan trip and understand why the government could not develop Varanasi on similar lines.
The Uttar Pradesh government and Indian Oil Corporation Limited have signed an MoU for the construction of an international cricket stadium in Gorakhpur on Thursday.
Shri Kashi Vishwanath Temple Trust CEO Vishwa Bhushan Mishra stated that by this morning, around 1.6 lakh devotees had already taken darshan. He added that the temple administration expects a total footfall of eight to ten lakh devotees this year.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Friday responded to the ongoing controversy involving Swami Avimukteshwaranand Saraswati and the Magh Mela administration, asserting that "no individual can be above the law."
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Wednesday said that West Bengal has been placed at the centre of the Union Budget 2026-27 under the government's 'Purvodaya' (Rise of the East) strategy, rejecting allegations that the state did not find mention in the Budget.
The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has directed authorities to submit a fresh progress report on the measures taken to prevent the discharge of untreated sewage and industrial effluents into the Ganga and its tributaries at Varanasi and Chandauli.
Samajwadi Party MLC Ashutosh Sinha stated that the party intends to "corner the government" regarding the continuous demolition of temples in Varanasi, vowing to fight the issue from the streets to the assembly.