Luknow, Vrindavan, 2015.12.02 (TOI, IANS, DJ): Priests of Sri Banke Bihari temple, the Brahmin Sabha, the Brajbasi Panda Mahasabha and members of several other groups have been protesting over the past few days by holding demonstrations. Temple priests in this Hindu holy town are protesting the Uttar Pradesh government’s move to bring some of the main shrines of Braj Bhoomi under administrative control.
They accused the government of trying to infringe on their rights and eyeing the huge earnings of the temples. The temple managements have been under a shadow for allegedly ignoring the interests of pilgrims.
Informed sources say the government wants to constitute a board for the shrines in Braj Bhoomi. The priests will continue to conduct the ritualistic puja but the management and maintenance of facilities will be the domain of the board.
On Tuesday, the state cabinet meeting was to discuss the process to take control of Vrindavan’s Banke Bihari temple for development. However, the cabinet meeting concluded without an official statement on the ownership of the temple.
This news led the protesting Goswamis of Vrindavan to celebrate as a victory against the state government. They had been holding a demonstration outside the temple since the report of a possible takeover by the government was reported on November 29.
Pradeep Mathur, congress MLA from Mathura tried to pacify the agitation of Goswamis on Tuesday and claimed that he had spoken to principal secretary (religious affairs) Navneet Sehgal about the government’s initiative of taking over Banke Bihari.
“Navneet Sehgal claimed that government will not do anything against the will of people and temple priests. He also assured to meet the Goswami’s and address their grievances,” added Pradeep Mathura.
Sehgal in August had said there have been serious complaints of irregularities at Banke Bihari as the pilgrims are often duped by pandas and deprived of basic facilities due to which the government wanted to take over the shrine.
“We don’t have faith in the government. They haven’t introduced a proposal to take over Banke Bihari in this cabinet meet but we are sure that they haven’t dropped the idea. Our fight is with government’s intentions and not against the betterment of the temple,” said Ashish Goswami, one among the several temple priests who staged a demonstration outside Banke Bihari on Tuesday.
Built in 1860, the Banke Bihari temple receives lakhs of people every year, mainly around Janmashtami. The three-storied temple, with ornate Rajasthani architecture, has arches and pillars that give it a distinctive look. It is said that the image of Banke Bihari was discovered by Swami Haridas in Nidhivan.
Pradeep Mathur addressing Vrindavan sants and sadhus meet to protest government control of Banke Bihari (Dec. 1, 2015) Picture Dainik Jagran.
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