VHP to launch campaign to free temples from government control

The Vishwa Hindu Parishad will shortly launch a massive campaign to free temples from government control, said VHP international president Alok Kumar in Mangaluru on Thursday.

Speaking to reporters at the VHP office, Mr. Kumar said the campaign was aimed at bringing temples back under the control of devotees and Hindu society.

“When the government does not exercise control over masjids and churches, why should it have a hold over ₹1,000 crore in income from temples? The income that the Karnataka government gets from the Kukke Subrahmanya temple is the highest it receives from temples in the state. If temples in the country come under the control of Hindu society, this revenue can be used for Hindu society’s religious and educational activities,” he said.

As part of the campaign, the VHP will meet Chief Ministers, Governors, elected representatives, religious heads, and the public, holding conventions in support of the initiative. The Mandir Mukti Abhiyan will be as successful as the VHP’s Rama Janmabhoomi, uniform civil code, and anti-cow slaughter campaigns, he said.

“The entire Hindu community is hurt by the enactment of the ‘Chanda Chori’ skit in front of Parliament, in which sadhus were wrongly projected as ‘chanda choors’. None of the sadhus has been named as an accused in the Ayodhya Ram Temple hundi theft case. Despite this, Rahul Gandhi, Pappu Yadav, and other opposition leaders have maligned ‘Sanatana Dharma’ by enacting the skit. Devotees will definitely give a befitting reply in the forthcoming elections,” Mr. Kumar added.

He said the ongoing investigation into the hundi theft issue was likely to be completed shortly, and by the end of this year, the accused would be sentenced to harsh imprisonment. He expressed confidence that the temple management would take steps to prevent such incidents in the future and regain the trust of devotees, adding that the issue had been unnecessarily politicised.

‘No need to react’

Referring to a letter from Karnataka Home Minister Priyank Kharge seeking the accounts of the RSS, Mr. Kumar said: “The RSS does not need to react to the letter. He has no authority to ask for it.” Courts have held that ‘guru dakshina’ from shakhas to the RSS is not an income, and hence no income tax can be levied. “Just for his own popularity, the Minister has written a letter,” Mr. Kumar said.

While agreeing with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s stand to pardon agitators at Jantar Mantar who raised their voice over the NEET paper leak, Mr. Kumar expressed concern over vulgar comments made by some agitators and the way they attacked policemen in New Delhi.