Rajkot: In a significant development from the Gadhada Swaminarayan temple controversy, both two sadhus such as the contentious SP Swami were also externed in the districts of this country.
The notices issued on the sadhus — Swami and Ghanshyamdas Swami — had been served at a temple nearby Mansa at North Gujarat on Tuesday night by Gadhada authorities.
For this, the duo was banned from entering Ahmedabad, Surendranagar, Botad, Rajkot, Bhavnagar and Amreli districts.Earlier at March this year, Botad district collectorate had issued a show-cause note to SP Swami asking him to explain why he shouldn’t be externed in the two districts.
The note was issued amid the continuing rift between two teams of Vadtal branch of Swaminarayan sect, Acharya Paksh along with Dev Paksh.
SP Swami belongs to Acharya Paksh.
The bitter contest has been happening between both groups to treat numerous temples of the Swaminarayan sect and’d often turned bloody before.
Acharya Paksh was handling the Gopinathji temple at Gadhada city but through the elections held at 2019, it dropped to Dev Paksha and Dev Paksh is handling the temple incidents.
Police said more than seven criminal cases are lodged against S Pen Swami at the previous ten years such as criminal intimidation.
Earlier in October, 2018, SP Swami courted controversy by minding the old guy in a meeting at the temple.
At the Swaminarayan sect of Vadtal branch, Acharya Paksha members follow with Ajendraprasad Maharaj while people of Dev Paksha are motivated by Rakesh Prasad Maharaj.
According to the legend, the Gadhada temple is also an important pilgrimage place for followers of this sect because it had been this little city in Gadhada in which Lord Swaminarayan lived for 28 decades and breathed his last.