Lucknow, Aug 14 (PTI) Four Bills including Shri Banke Bihari Temple Trust Bill, 2025 were passed on Thursday, the last day of the Monsoon session of the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly, before Speaker Satish Mahana adjourned the House sine die.
Central Affairs Minister Suresh Kumar Khanna placed the bills on the table of the House, which Mahana announced as passed on the basis of a majority.
A Samajwadi Party (SP) member talked about bringing an amendment proposal over the Banke Bihari Temple Trust Bill for discussion. The Speaker turned down his proposal, asking why he did not send it when the Bill was presented on Wednesday.
Leader of Opposition Mata Prasad Pandey said, “You have the majority, you may get it passed, but this is not right.” SP members walked out of the House in protest against this.
Khanna proposed the passing of the Uttar Pradesh State Legislature Member and Minister Comfort Law (Amendment) Bill, 2025, UP Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management (Amendment) Bill, 2025 and UP State Public Service Commission (Regulation of Procedure) (Amendment) Bill, 2025.
The Bill related to the salary of MLAs was passed unanimously and other Bills on the basis of majority.
The Shri Banke Bihari Temple Trust Bill provides for the formation of an 18-member board of trustees, who will be appointed by the state government. They will include 11 nominated and seven ex officio members.
As the Shri Banke Bihari Temple Trust matter is pending in the court, the Opposition raised a question asking how it could be brought in the midst of the judicial process. Khanna replied that the operation will be done at present according to the instructions given by the Supreme Court.
According to the Shri Banke Bihari Temple Trust Bill, the nominated members can include three eminent persons related to Vaishnav traditions, sects or peeths, three eminent persons (saints, sages, gurus, scholars, mahants, acharyas, etc.) related to other traditions, sects and peeths of Sanatan Dharma.
Apart from this, three such persons related to any branch or sect of Sanatan Dharma who are educationists, scholars, entrepreneurs, social workers, etc. can also be included in it. Two such members will be nominated from the Sevayat Goswami tradition in the temple who are descendants of Swami Shri Haridas Ji.
The Bill provides that the Mathura district magistrate, senior superintendent of police (SSP), municipal commissioner, chief executive officer of Uttar Pradesh Braj Tirtha Vikas Parishad, an officer of the Charitable Department of the UP government, chief executive officer of Shri Banke Bihari Ji Temple Trust and any member appointed by the state government to fulfil the objectives of the trust will be ex-officio members of this Board of Trustees.
Throwing light on the objectives and reasons of the proposed Bill on behalf of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, it was said that Shri Banke Bihari Temple located in Vrindavan town of Mathura district is an ancient and world-famous temple where a large number of devotees and tourists visit every year. This temple is spread over about 870 square metres, out of which about 365 square metres is used as a scenic courtyard.
It was told that devotees and visitors have to face great inconvenience due to the very narrow path to reach the Shri Banke Bihari Ji Temple.
Referring to the objectives of the Bill, it was said that on August 20, 2022, two devotees died due to excessive crowds in this temple, necessitating efficient crowd management.
It was said that it has been decided to constitute a trust called Shri Banke Bihari Ji Mandir Nyas for the all-round development of the temple area, including pilgrimage, religious, cultural, spiritual and establishment-related aspects.
It was stated that, as the state legislature was not in session and it was necessary to take immediate legislative steps for this work, the governor issued the Uttar Pradesh Shri Banke Bihari Ji Temple Trust Ordinance, 2025 on May 26.
During the process of passing the Bill, when the SP members started walking out of the House, Khanna congratulated everyone for their cooperation during the four-day session. PTI AR CDN KSS KSS
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