Senior BJP leader asks Centre and Uttarakhand to stop musical concerts at Badrinath

Veteran politician Murli Manohar Joshi has strongly opposed a recent musical event held near the Badrinath temple, calling it an insult to the religious customs and holiness of the site. The gathering, known as Bhajan Jamming, took place on September 19 and 20 at the Tourist Arrival Plaza located near the temple, sitting more than 10,200 feet high in the mountains. Officials from the Chamoli local administration and the Uttarakhand tourism wing stated that the Indian Army arranged the programme using the tagline Our Past Our Future. Writing on the platform X, Mr. Joshi argued that hosting a loud musical show in the holy Himalayan region deeply hurts the beliefs of countless followers. He pointed out that Adi Guru Shankaracharya originally built the temple for quiet prayer, noting that even blowing a conch is normally not allowed there. Besides religious concerns, he warned that gathering thousands of people for dancing at such high elevations poses health risks. He criticized the shift of Dev Bhoomi toward commercial entertainment, asking both the central government and the state administration to ban similar programmes to protect the area's holy identity. The gathering also faced pushback from Jyotirmath Shankaracharya Swami Avimukteshwaranand Saraswati, local groups, and opposition Congress politicians who questioned the choice of holding a concert at a major pilgrimage location.