Dehradun, July 19 -- Priests in the state have expressed their anger over an under construction Kedarnath temple's replica in Uttar Pradesh's Etawah -- a year after opposing the construction of a replica of the shrine in Delhi's Burari area. The temple, named as Kedareshwar Mahadev, is built by the Kedareshwar Mahadev Etawah Temple Trust, whose chief trustee is former chief minister and Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav. Yadav shared a video of the temple on his X account on July 14. The priests threatened to stage a protest outside Yadav's residence in Lucknow if the temple's structure and name were not changed. Santosh Trivedi, a priest at Kedarnath shrine and vice president of Char Dham Tirtha Purohit Mahapanchayat, also questioned the "silence" of the state government and Badrinath-Kedarnath Temple Committee (BKTC) over the matter. Trivedi said, "As we opposed the proposed construction of the Kedarnath temple's replica in Delhi, we disapprove the construction of the shrine's replica in Etawah by Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav. They just want to earn money by making a temple in the name of Kedarnath." "As long as its structure resembles that of the Kedarnath temple and no changes are made, all the priests of the Char Dham will continue to oppose it. Now that its construction is complete, it should not be named after Kedarnath. If the name is not changed, we will stage a protest outside Akhilesh Yadav's residence in Lucknow," Trivedi said. Trivedi said, "Even the state government and BKTC haven't done anything about it, even though the state cabinet passed a proposal last year to take action against people, trusts misusing the name of Kedarnath. We also expect Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath to intervene in the matter" Satya Narayan Sachan, national general secretary of the Samajwadi Party (SP), said, "Our Constitution grants every citizen and trust the right to construct a temple. We are not drawing any comparison between the temple in Etawah and Kedarnath Dham. The Etawah temple is Kedareshwar Mahadev. It is being built in accordance with the sentiments of the local people. I urge everyone not to politicise the issue." A row had erupted in July last year over the construction of a replica of the Kedarnath temple in Burari area of New Delhi after chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami attended its foundation stone laying ceremony. Even though the state government clarified they have no association with the proposed temple in Delhi, the priests continued their protests, alleging that the government was encouraging the construction of a temple in name of Kedarnath and conspiring against the Char Dham Yatra. The Uttarakhand cabinet in its meeting on July 18, 2024 decided to implement strict legal provisions against those organisations, trusts and individuals found misusing the names of Char Dhams or using similar names. The plan to build the temple in Delhi was later dropped by its trust. Kedarnath is among the four Hindu sacred shrines of the Char Dham that also includes Badrinath, Gangotri and Yamunotri, which attracts millions of Hindu pilgrims between the months of May and October....