The right wing Hindu organization, Vishva Hindu Parishad on Tuesday reportedly announced a campaign to free temples across the country from “government control”. The campaign claims that the government’s takeover of temples reflects the mindset of “Muslim invaders” and “colonial” British.
“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 in a press conference.
On Monday, a Hindutva organization held a conference of seers in Tirupati, following which the temple board announced that “purification rituals” were conducted to “restore the sanctity of the laddoo prasadams” amid the ongoing controversy surrounding the Tirupati Balaji Temple’s prasadam.
The Hindutva leader alleged that the prasadam had been adulterated with animal fat, claiming that this had “angered the entire 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,” said VHP joint general secretary Surendra Jain.
Jain questioned, “Article 12 states that the State has no religion. So, who gave them the right to run temples? Articles 25 and 26 grant us the right to manage our institutions. If minorities can run their institutions, then why not Hindus?”
“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,” the Hindutva leader added.
Jain also claimed there were more than 400 temples under 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.”
However, he was unable to provide any evidence to support his claims. It is worth noting that many have accused Hindutva organizations of spreading false information about temples to fuel Islamophobia and stoke religious animosity in society.
The Hindutva organization, previously accused of orchestrating anti-Muslim riots across the country, announced plans to hold protest rallies in all state capitals and submit a memorandum of demands to the chief ministers. “If necessary, legal steps will be taken afterward. And if that is not enough, we may even launch a movement in the future,” said the saffron leader.
