Bill move to kick up dust

THE SP-LED State Government?s move to pass a Bill to take over the administrative control of various Hindu places of worship, including temples and mutts, is all set to kick up a major controversy.

THE SP-LED State Government’s move to pass a Bill to take over the administrative control of various Hindu places of worship, including temples and mutts, is all set to kick up a major controversy.

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Various Hindu organisations have joined hands to oppose tooth and nail the proposed bill which the government has announced to bring in the next session of the Vidhan Sabha.

Condemning the move, Hindu religious leader and chairman of the Ram Janmbhumi Trust Nritya Gopal Das said in Ayodhya on Monday that he had already discussed the issue with some saints of the country and all of them were disturbed by the State Government’s decision.

Das urged the Government to appoint a committee of Sadhus before taking any decision on such an emotive, religious and sensitive issue and warned of a nationwide agitation if the Government goes ahead with its plan.

State BJP president Keshri Nath Tripathi called the move as ‘fraudulent secularism’ of Chief Minister and urged him to bring a similar legislation to take over the religious places belonging to Christians and Muslims, too. The BJP, he announced, would join hands with Sadhus on the issue and provide them with all possible support. He, however, suggested that the government must take Hindus religious leaders into confidence before taking such a step.

He said that the party would chalk out a plan to counter the government’s move after consulting senior leaders of the VHP, the Bajrang Dal, the RSS and other Hindu outfits.   

The VHP, which was also disturbed about the issue, was waiting for its supremo Ashok Singhal to return from his foreign tour to decide its strategy. However, VHP national general secretary Pursottam Singh told the Hindustan Times that the anti-Hindu move of the SP-led Government was already in the agenda of the proposed governing body meeting of the VHP scheduled to be held in Gwalior.

In Karnataka, where a similar act had been passed, the Government collected Rs 87 crore from temples and gave a meager Rs 10 crore for renovation work while a sum of Rs 50 crore and Rs 27 crore was given to madarsas and churches.

President of the Avadh Prant of the Bajrang Dal Ved Trivedi also expressed the similar views and said that the Bajrang Dal would not allow the State Government to succeed in his efforts.