High-level panel to probe alleged scam in gold plating at Kedarnath temple
Dehradun (PTI): The Uttarakhand government has decided to set up a high-level committee to probe allegations of a Rs 1.25 billion scam in gold plating the sanctum sanctorum of the Kedarnath temple.
The state's Tourism, Religion and Culture Minister Satpal Maharaj on Friday said he has instructed secretary of culture and religious affairs Harichandra Semwal to form a high-level inquiry committee under the chairmanship of the Garhwal commissioner to get to the bottom of the matter.
He has asked Semwal to include technical experts as well as goldsmiths in the inquiry committee.
The state government is "extremely sensitive" about the matter. Action will be taken against whoever is found guilty, Maharaj said.
He clarified that according to the provisions in the Shri Badrinath-Kedarnath Temple Committee Act, 1939, donation was accepted and permission was taken from the state government to gold-plate the sanctum sanctorum of the Kedarnath temple.
The gold plating was done under the supervision of the experts from the Archaeological Survey of India, the minister said, adding a donor had bought the gold and got it inlaid on the walls of the sanctum sanctorum with the temple committee having no direct role in it.
After completion of the work, its bill and other papers were submitted by the donor to the temple committee, Maharaj said.
He accused the Opposition parties of trying to disturb the Chardham Yatra by giving "unnecessary" weightage to the matter.
Earlier, the Badrinath-Kedarnath Temple Committee had in a statement said 23,777.800 grams of gold were used in the sanctum sanctorum of the temple. Its current value was about Rs 14.38 crore, while the total weight of the copper plates used for the gilded work was 1,001.300 kg of a total value of Rs 29 lakh.
Recently, Teerth Purohit of Kedarnath Temple and Vice President of Chardham Mahapanchayat Santosh Trivedi released a video on social media alleging that instead of gold plating on the walls of the sanctum sanctorum, brass has been used and the scam was of about Rs 1.25 billion.
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Cong takes swipe at PM over India not being part of US-led 'Pax Silica' grouping
New Delh (PTI) The Congress on Saturday said it is perhaps not very surprising that India is not part of a US-led strategic initiative to build a secure silicon supply chain, given the "sharp downturn" in the Trump-Modi ties, and asserted that it would have been to "our advantage if we had been part of this group".
Congress general secretary in charge of communications Jairam Ramesh took a swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying the news of India not being part of the group comes after the PM had enthusiastically posted on social media about a telephone call with his "once-upon-a-time good friend and a recipient of many hugs in Ahmedabad, Houston, and Washington DC".
In a lengthy post on X, Ramesh said, "According to some news reports, the US has excluded India from a nine-nation initiative it has launched to reduce Chinese control on high-tech supply chains. The agreement is called Pax Silica, clearly as a counter to Pax Sinica. The nations included (for the moment at least) are the US, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Singapore, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Israel, the United Arab Emirates, and Australia."
"Given the sharp downturn in the Trump-Modi ties since May 10th, 2025, it is perhaps not very surprising that India has not been included. Undoubtedly, it would have been to our advantage if we had been part of this group."
"This news comes a day after the PM had enthusiastically posted on his telephone call with his once-upon-a-time good friend and a recipient of many hugs in Ahmedabad, Houston, and Washington DC," the Congress leader asserted.
The new US-led strategic initiative, rooted in deep cooperation with trusted allies, has been launched to build a secure and innovation-driven silicon supply chain.
According to the US State Department, the initiative called 'Pax Silica' aims to reduce coercive dependencies, protect the materials and capabilities foundational to artificial intelligence (AI), and ensure aligned nations can develop and deploy transformative technologies at scale.
The initiative includes Japan, South Korea, Singapore, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Israel, the United Arab Emirates, and Australia. With the exception of India, all other QUAD countries -- Japan, Australia and the US -- are part of the new initiative.
New Delhi will host the India-AI Impact Summit 2026 on February 19-20, focusing on the principles of 'People, Planet, and Progress'. The summit, announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the France AI Action Summit, will be the first-ever global AI summit hosted in the Global South.
Prime Minister Modi and US President Trump on Thursday discussed ways to sustain momentum in the bilateral economic partnership in a phone conversation amid signs of the two sides inching closer to firming up a much-awaited trade deal.
The phone call between the two leaders came on a day Indian and American negotiators concluded two-day talks on the proposed bilateral trade agreement that is expected to provide relief to India from the Trump administration's whopping 50 per cent tariffs on Indian goods.
In a social media post, Modi had described the conversation as "warm and engaging".
"We reviewed the progress in our bilateral relations and discussed regional and international developments. India and the US will continue to work together for global peace, stability and prosperity," Modi had said without making any reference to trade ties.
