‘Entire Hindu society angry’: VHP launches campaign to rid temples from government control

Surendra Jain, joint general secretary, Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP)

The Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) on Tuesday launched a campaign to rid temples from the control of the government, claiming that it represents the mindset of “Muslim invaders” and the “colonial British”. The launch of the campaign comes in the backdrop of the massive controversy over allegations of adulteration in the Tirupati Balaji Temple prasadam.

“Governments are using temples to loot their wealth and to accommodate politicians who could not get a place in the government,” VHP joint general secretary Surendra Jain said addressing a press conference. A day earlier, the VHP held a conference of seers in Tirupati and the temple board said “purification rituals” were performed “to restore the sanctity of the laddoo prasadams”.

The VHP functionary said that the alleged adulteration of the prasadam with animal fat had made “the entire Hindu society angry” and claimed that reports of such adulteration were coming in from several other temples such as Kerala’s Sabarimala as well.

This, Jain said, was “a criminal flirtation with the sentiments of the Hindu society.”

“The common link between all these episodes is that these are all temples under the control of governments. The only stable solution to the problem is freeing the temples from the control of governments and them being handed over to the society. The society will manage the temples under the guidance of saints,” he said, according to The Indian Express.

Terming the practice of governments running temples as “unconstitutional”, Jain cited Article 12 of the Constitution to say that the State has no religion.

“Then, who has given them the right to run temples? Article 25 and 26 give us the right to run our institutions. If minorities can run their institutions, then why not Hindus?” he asked.

“It appears there is a pattern. Muslim invaders destroyed temples and looted them. The British were smarter and took control of temples. This way they established an institutional system to loot the temples. Unfortunately, despite Independence, our politicians could not free themselves of this colonial mindset. Governments taking control of temples is a reflection of the same mindset. This loot must end now. Our slogan thus is: Hindu Money for Hindu Cause,” he added.

Jain further said that there were more than 400 temples under the control of the Tamil Nadu government alone and alleged that “in the past 10 years, the state has shown losses of Rs 50,000 crore in these temples.”

The VHP will hold protest rallies in all state capitals “as a first step” of the campaign and give a memorandum of demands to the chief ministers. “If needed, even legal steps will; be taken after that. And if this does not suffice, then we could even launch a movement in the future,” he added.