Shimla, Feb 28 (PTI) The Himachal Pradesh government's decision to ask the temple trusts to make contributions for its two flagship schemes has drawn flak from the BJP.

The opposition party termed the Congress government's decision as anti-Hindu, dubbing it as an attempt to hide its financial mismanagement.

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According to a notification issued by the state government, various temple trusts functioning under the Himachal Pradesh Hindu Public Religious Institution and Charitable Endowments Act, 1984, make contributions for charitable activities and welfare schemes.

The notification suggested that the temple trusts may make contributions to the Mukhya Mantri Sukh Aashray Yojna and the Mukhya Mantri Sukh Shiksha Yojna as well.

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The Sukh Aashray scheme classifies orphans as 'children of the state' and aims to provide facilities for them, including funding their higher education, it said.

The notification also said that every such proposal should be passed by the trusts first.

Moreover, they should strictly adhere to the Sections 17(a) to 17(d) of the Act, which state that the trustees of a Hindu public religious institution and charitable endowment, after satisfying adequately their purpose including the proper performance of puja and other rituals, may incur expenditure for propagation of Hindu religion and faith; establishment and maintenance of educational institutions; training of 'vidyarthis', and securing the health, safety and convenience of disciples, pilgrims and worshippers visiting the institution or endowment.

The notification added that in all the above cases, the prior approval of the chief commissioner (temple) must be taken by sending a case through the additional chief commissioner-cum-director, language, art and culture.

The BJP has flayed the move, dubbing it as anti-Hindu and an attack on religious institutions.

Leader of Opposition Jai Ram Thakur claimed the Congress government is pressurising the temple trusts but the BJP would not allow it to snatch temple funds.

In a statement issued on Friday, Thakur said that temples have given funds during disasters in the past, but they were never forced to contribute to government schemes.

Senior BJP leader Chetan Singh Bragta also condemned the move.

"The government, drowning in financial mismanagement due to its reckless freebies, has now resorted to targeting temple funds to fulfil its so-called 10 guarantees," he said.

The state government's debt has crossed Rs 1 lakh crore, while its per capita debt burden is over Rs 1 lakh per head, Bragta claimed.

Instead of cutting down wasteful expenditure on VIPs' luxuries, curbing corruption, and increasing revenue through better policies, the government is pressurising 35 temple trusts under it to provide financial help, while sparing the other religious institutions, he alleged.

Cautioning that it was nothing but state-sponsored temple robbery, which exposes the anti-Hindu mindset of the Congress, Bragta said the devotees donate to temples for religious and charitable causes, and not to bail out a bankrupt government.

Demanding immediate rollback of this "unethical and unconstitutional" request, he asked why only Hindu temples are being targeted.

Himachal BJP media in-charge Karan Nanda said the party will not be silent on this issue.

The BJP will take all necessary steps to protect the temple funds from government interference, as the temples belong to the devotees and not to the Congress government, he said.

Meanwhile, talking to PTI on Friday, state revenue minister Jagat Negi said, "The BJP had also taken funds from temples during Covid. If the funds are used for a public cause, I do not think there should be an issue".

Negi also alleged that the previous BJP government derailed the state's finances by leaving a loan of Rs 75,000 crore and employee liabilities of Rs 10,000 crore.

Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu said he didn't wish to comment on Jai Ram Thakur's statement.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)