The Freethought Party of India (FPI) has opposed involvement of religious heads and erstwhile kings in politics and questioned the necessity of building costly temples when poverty is writ large.
Shankaracharya of Puri is a relic of the past. So also is the Gajapati of Puri. Each one of them should cease in sermonizing political leaders about the need for spiritual education, it said in a release.
Besides, it said, “What is the necessity of having Bimala Mandir in the 21st century in Shankarahaya’s Gobarndhan PeethIJ All conscious citizens should ask this question bluntly. The secular republic of India does not need to be educated by any medieval leaders like the Gajapati or the Shankaracharya of Puri.”
In obvious reference to the sermonizing of the Puri Sankaracharya for moral education in the country and the presence of political leaders and Ministers in Puri during inauguration of Bimala Temple on the Gobardhan mutt premises, the FPI demanded that the present leaders needn’t go to the religious heads for ruling the country. On the other, the FPI said that ethical education based on the constitutional values is quite appropriate for the Indian citizens to lead a wholesome, unrighteous and dignified life.
“love for humanity should override all other sectarian affinity. The academic system in India and the academic system in any other countries of the world should be the same and wasteful expenditure incurred in the name of religion should stop. No serious political leader should waste his / her valuable time in talking of spiritual/moral education as advanced by certain seers.”
No scripture should be the basis of any such education. Time has come for leaders like HD Devegowda, Shivraj Patil, Amit Saha, Dharmendra Pradhan and others to focus on the country’s advancement in strict adherence to the principles of Constitution, it added.