VHP to launch stir to free temples from govt control

The Vishwa Hindu Parishad today said it will launch a stir to free mutts and temples from government control. "Temples like Siddhi Vinayak in Mumbai, Shri Saibaba temple at Shirdi and Vaishnav Devi temple in Jammu are presently under government control and we have to free them," Pravin Togadia, VHP general secretary, said today.

"We will strongly oppose intervention of the government in temple issues. Why do the governments not intervene in masjid matters?" he asked.

"As part of our agitation, we are going to register the devotees, conduct pujas and clean temples," announced Togadia, who was here to attend organisation's two-day national meet which began yesterday.

Vyanktesh Abdev, organisation's secretary, said VHP will launch a month-long agitation on May 15 in Maharashtra to protest the state government's control over the temples.

The Congress-led government was also contemplating an Act "to gain control of temples in the state", Todgadia said.

"We are going to conduct a convention of devotees and later we will submit memorandum to district collectors all over the state as part of the agitation," Abdev said. A signature campaign against the government's control would be organised which would be later submitted to the governor.