Acharya Mahamandaleshwar Lakshmi Narayan Tripathi and Mamta Kulkarni have both been removed from the Akhada by its founder, Rishi Ajay Das.

Following the contentious selection of Mamta Kulkarni, a former Bollywood actress with a troubled history, as Mahamandaleshwar, the decision was made.

There has been a lot of resentment about Tripathi’s apparent appointment of Kulkarni without the founder’s approval.

“As the founder of Kinnar Akhada, I am hereby relieving Acharya Mahamandaleshwar Lakshmi Narayan Tripathi from his position as Acharya Mahamandaleshwar of the Kinnar Akhada, effective immediately,” said Rishi Ajay Das in a press statement dated January 30, 2025.

The purpose of his position was to support religious endeavors and promote the transgender community, but he has strayed from these duties.”

The arrangement Tripathi made with Juna Akhada in 2019 is at the center of the dispute; according to Ajay Das, it was purportedly made without his consent. He further claimed that since he did not sign the contract, it was legally void between the two Akhadas.

Furthermore, Ajay Das said that Tripathi had undermined the principles of the Kinnar Akhada by permitting Mamta Kulkarni to join and assume the esteemed position of Mahamandaleshwar in spite of her prior criminal activity.

Mamta Kulkarni’s selection was especially troubling, according to Ajay Das, because of her criminal past.

“What kind of guru are you providing to Sanatan Dharma by bestowing the title of Mahamandaleshwar onto such a person? It’s an ethical issue,” he wrote.

The founder stressed that this selection constituted a breach of the Akhada’s religious ideals in addition to being immoral.

Discussions within the religious community have been sparked by the expulsion of both people, with Mahant Ravindra Puri, the president of the Akhil Bharatiya Akhada Parishad, voicing support for Tripathi and Kulkarni.

“I want to ask, who is he (Rishi Ajay Das) to expel Laxmi Narayan Tripathi?” Puri questioned the validity of Ajay Das’s decision.
Additionally, he restated that Tripathi and Kulkarni will both continue to play parts in the Akhada and take part in the next Amrit Snan.

When Acharya Lakshmi Narayan Tripathi made the announcement in public at the Maha Kumbh, the dispute surrounding Mamta Kulkarni’s selection as Mahamandaleshwar got underway.
Known for her parts in well-liked Bollywood movies from the 1990s, Mamta Kulkarni had withdrawn from the spotlight in the early 2000s.

But once she returned to India, Tripathi gave her the post of Mahamandaleshwar, a move that has since drawn a lot of criticism.

Kulkarni’s appointment had already drawn criticism from transgender Kathavachak Jagatguru Himangi Sakhi Maa, who questioned her integrity and connected her history to illegal activity.

For promotional purposes, Mamta Kulkarni has been renamed Mahamandaleshwar. Society is fully aware of her history. In the past, she was even imprisoned in relation to narcotics crimes. In an interview with ANI, Himangi Sakhi said, “This requires investigation.”