Shingnapur Temple Braces For Shani Dasha As Maharashtra Govt Plans Takeover For ‘Overall Welfare’

The BJP government in Maharashtra is doing the unthinkable. It is now planning a ‘special legislation’ to take over the Shani temple in Shingnapur, despite there being no reports of misuse of temple funds or infrastructure, reports Mumbai Mirror. A proposal will soon be tabled before the state cabinet for approval, on the lines of the one done for Mahalaxmi temple in Kolhapur. Mirror quoted Chief Minister (CM) Devendra Fadnavis as saying that legislators had, in the assembly, promised a law to ensure transparency in the temple trust management as it is a popular religious destination and hence needed facilities and infrastructure.

However, the management of the temple trust has been caught unawares by the proposal. Anil Darandale, spokesperson of the trust, told Mirror that he was unaware of any such proposal by the government.

Once the state government passes a legislation in such matters, it paves the way for government employees to be appointed to important management posts in the establishment. Once the legislation is in place, the temple trust will have to report to the state law and judiciary department.

It may be recalled that in Kerala, the communist government led by CM Pinarayi Vijayan is trying its best to bring all temples under its control as it perceives these shrines to be cash cows.

According to a report by PGurus, when a Hindu rights body filed a PIL in the Kerala high court against the move to control temples, the bench comprising Justices PR Ramachandra Menon and Devan Ramachandran observed that the appointments to Devaswom Boards in Kerala, which control, administer and rule the temples, are riddled with secrecy and that the government has to change it with immediate effect.

It is interesting to note that recently, T Rajesh, a CPI(M) MLA in Kerala, introduced a private member’s bill in the legislative assembly to take over all Hindu temples in the state.