Subramanian Swamy seeks PM's assurance that Centre won't take over Ayodhya Ram Mandir

Ahead of the onset of the Ram Temple construction in Ayodhya, senior BJP leader and Rajya Sabha MP Subramanian Swamy has urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi that the administration of the temple should not be under the ambit of the government. Swamy sought assurance from PM Modi that he would not become the chairman of the board to administer the temple activities after its construction is completed.

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Uttarakhand govt to take control of shrines

In seeking assurance from PM Modi, Swamy also mentioned the case of Uttarakhand, wherein the state assembly passed a bill to take over the administration of Char Dhams and the 51 other temples in Uttarakhand in December 2019 for the smooth conduct of pilgrimages. Governor Baby Rani Maurya's ascent in January this year paved the way to form a board for the temple administration with an IAS officer as CEO and the CM as the president of the board.

Swamy filed a PIL in Uttarakhand High Court challenging the Uttarakhand Char Dham Devasthanam Management Act, 2019, which allows bringing the activities of the shrines in the state under the purview of the state government.  

The board aims to bring Kedarnath, Badrinath, Gangotri, Yamunotri and 51 other temples in the hill state under the purview of the state government and will also result in the dismantling of the existing temple managements such as the Badri-Kedar Temple Committee. The objective of the Act is similar to that of Vaishno Devi Shrine Board and Tirupati Balaji Shrine Board.

However, the priests' of the shrines and temple management believe the new Act was passed to further the control of the state government on the temples, while the state government's councel Kartikey Hari Gupta argued in the HC that the new Act was passed to address the plight of the pilgrims and the mismanagement of temples.

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