Allahabad HC judge withdraws from Ram Temple seminar at Kumbh Mela after ‘hate speech’ row

Allahabad High Court judge Justice Shekhar Yadav, whose speech at a VHP event in December kicked up a controversy, has opted out of a seminar on the Ram temple movement in the Kumbh Mela area on January 22, where he was scheduled to deliver the keynote address, an organiser said on Saturday. Judge Shekhar Yadav of the Allahabad High Court, whose remarks at a VHP gathering in December sparked a scandal, has chosen not to attend a seminar on the Ram temple movement in the Kumbh Mela region on January 22. According to the organisers, Justice Yadav expressed his inability to attend the "Rashtriya Sangoshthi: Ram Mandir Aandolan aur Gorakshpeeth" seminar, saying January 22 is a working day. Seminar convener Shashi Prakash Singh said, "Some members of the organising committee had taken consent from Justice Shekhar Yadav to attend this programme.