VISHWA Hindu Parishad (VHP) has warned the Congress government of Delhi against any bid to takeover temples of Delhi. In a press conference in New Delhi on July 14, VHP president Shri Ashok Singhal said a stir would be launched if any attempt is made by the State government to takeover any temple of Delhi. “The temples have been constructed by the people not by the government. Therefore, the government should not have any misconception about the property of temples. The claims of poor management in temples are wrong. It is basically a move to takeover the temple property in the name of poor management. The Hindu society will not tolerate any such attempt,” he said.
Swami Raghwanand of Shri Sanatan Dharma Pratinidhi Sabha, Mahant Naval Kishor Das of Sant Mahamandal, Shri Navin Kapur and Shri Anil Gupta of Jhandewalan Temple Society were also present at the press conference.
It is to be noted that the Government of Delhi recently indicated to constitute a shrine board for six temples of Delhi—Jhandewalan Mata Mandir, Kalkaji Temple, Siddha Peetha Yogmaya Temple, Hanuman Mandir (Connaught Place), Hanuman Mandir (Yamuna Bazar) and Gauri Shankar Temple. The reason behind the proposal to constitute shrine board was cited mismanagement. Shri Singhal said the government has basically eye on the money offered to the deities and it has nothing to do with the management of the temples. “The money offered to the God in temples belongs to the God only. Temples run many service projects for the needy people. This money will not be allowed to be put in the government treasury at all. Why the government has eye only on the temples? Why does it not see the gross mismanagement in Waqf Board and also the religious places of Christians and Muslims? There are many temples in south India which are now managed by government agencies but are in very poor condition as the number of devotees visiting those temples has drastically reduced,” Shri Singhal said.
