VHP launches campaign: ‘Govt control on temples mindset of Muslim invaders & Britishers’

Jain said the alleged adulteration of the prasadam with animal fat had made “the entire Hindu society angry”. Claiming that reports of such adulteration were coming in from several other temples such as Kerala’s Sabarimala as well, Jain called it “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.

Terming governments’ running temples as “unconstitutional”, Jain said: “Article 12 says 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.”

“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.

Alleging corruption, Jain said 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.”

According to Jain, “as a first step” of the campaign, the VHP will hold protest rallies in all state capitals 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 said.

On being asked why this could not be done despite 10 years of the Modi Government at the Centre and several states having BJP governments, Jain said: “Earlier it was a demand. Now we are launching a campaign. Now that the society has started feeling it and is raising its voice against government control over temples, it is perhaps God’s wish that we must launch a campaign for this now.”