Rajya Sabha MP and senior BJP leader Subramanian Swamy has said that the Devsthanam Board enacted by the BJP State Government in Uttarakhand is not only unconstitutional but also a violation of the peoples’ fundamental rights. Swamy said this while addressing the media here on Monday after filing a public interest litigation in the Uttarkahand High Court challenging the Char Dham Devsthanam Management Act. The petition is likely to be taken up for hearing on Tuesday.
Swamy said that during the past few years, similar steps had been taken by the governments of various states but he approached the court and succeeded in getting the temples out of government control.
He said, “When some step is taken against our principles, I have the right even as a BJP member to bring the BJP on the correct path, which is also my duty.”
Responding to a query, he said that in 2014, in his petition, the Supreme Court had clearly stated that the government cannot take control of temples. If there are financial irregularities in the temples, the government can take over the management for a short period to redress the irregularities and then hand over the management back to the committee concerned. Managing temples, mosques and churches is not the task of the government. It should be done by the devotees or their representatives.
In the PIL filed in the Uttarakhand high court, Swamy has contended that the Devsthanam Act brought out by the State government is unconstitutional.
The government taking over control of the Char Dham and 51 other temples is a violation of articles 25 and 26 of the constitution, the PIL states. It will be recalled that passing of the Char Dham Devsthanam Management Bill- 2019 in the winter session of the Vidhan Sabha had elicited strong objection from a large section of the religious fraternity including the Teerth Purohits and others involved in the traditional and religious activities related to the Char Dham and other shrines.