Amid a walkout by BJP members, the Bihar Assembly on Tuesday passed the Bodh Gaya Temple Management Bill by the voice vote, thus paving the way for a non-Hindu heading the Mahabodhi Temple committee.
Presently, the nine-member Bodh Gaya Temple Management Committee comprises four members each belonging to the Hindu community and the Buddhist community while it is headed by the District Magistrate of Gaya provided he is a Hindu.
If the District Magistrate of Gaya is a non-Hindu, the Government used to nominate some other Hindu officer of the same rank as the head of the Temple Management Committee.
But with the amendment in the Bill, a non-Hindu can also head the Bodh Gaya Temple Management Committee.
Chief Minister Nitish Kumar said that the District Magistrate is holding a Government position which should not be linked to any religion.
To maintain the secular sanctity of a Government post, the Bodh Gaya Temple Management Bill has been amended, he added.