Badrinath-Kedarnath To Ban Non-Hindus? Temple Panel To Pass Proposal Soon

Dehradun/Mussoorie, Jan 26: The Shri Badrinath Kedarnath Temple Committee (BKTC) announced that the entry of non-Hindus will be prohibited inside 45 temples under its jurisdiction. The announcement was made by temple committee chairman and senior BJP leader Hemant Dwivedi, who said that “preserving the religious and cultural traditions of Devbhoomi Uttarakhand was of paramount importance.” Dwivedi said a resolution to this effect will be passed in the upcoming board meeting of BKTC.

According to the official, the entry of non-Hindus had traditionally been restricted inside these temples. He, however, claimed that these “long-standing traditions were violated during the tenure of non-BJP governments”. “To ensure the sanctity of these shrines and proper observance of age-old traditions, concrete steps will now be taken by the temple committee,” he said in a statement.

The BKTC chairman also lauded the state government’s drive to remove illegally built shrines across Uttarakhand, calling it a significant step towards strengthening the state’s religious identity, cultural heritage and law and order situation.

Dwivedi said that effective measures would be taken to safeguard the sanctity and traditional practices of temples in Uttarakhand.

The opposition criticised the move , terming it as “diversionary tactics of the BJP government”.

“There is no need for any such formal prohibition as non-Hindus don’t enter these temples. They (BJP) just want to divert the public attention from pressing issues of the state”, said Congress state vice-president Suryakant Dhasmana.