Uttarakhand priests say won’t let PM land in Kedarnath if Char Dham Board not abolished

The priests say Char Dham Devasthanam Management Board Act infringes on their religious rights, and that they are compelled to raise their voices.

File image of Kedarnath temple in Uttarakhand. Char Dham project aims to improve road connectivity to the Hindu pilgrimage sites of Yamunotri, Gangotri, Kedarnath and Badrinath | Commons

Dehradun: Ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Kedarnath on 5 November, the tirth purohits (pilgrimage priests) of Uttarakhand have threatened to stage a protest if they are not allowed to meet him.

The priests say they plan to boycott the PM’s visit and gather at Kedarpuri as a mark of protest against the formation of Uttarakhand Char Dham Devasthanam Management Board — the umbrella body to regulate shrines and temples under its purview.

PM Modi will unveil the statue of Adi Shankaracharya and lay the foundation stone of several developmental projects at the shrine suburb in Kedarnath.

“We have repeatedly requested for a meeting with the Prime Minister on our demand to repeal Uttarakhand Char Dham Devasthanam Management Board but he never considered that. This Act not only infringes on our religious rights but deprives the tirth purohits the ownership of their properties in the temple campuses under the purview of the board. Now we are compelled to raise our voices against him,” said K.K. Kotiyal, Badrinath priest and president of Char Dham Tirth Purohit Hak-Hakuk Maha Panchayat.

“Char Dham tirth purohits hope that the state government will quash the board before PM’s visit or else we are prepared to protest at Kedarnath,” he said.

“Protest will not only be limited to sloganeering, we will lie down at the helipad to prevent the prime minister from landing. We will call a bandh to protest his visit here and show black flags to the PM. Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami requested us to put the protest on hold till 30 October, after a meeting with him on 11 October with a promise to repeal the board. But nothing has happened so far. We will resume our protest in full strength from 1 November,” said Vinod Shukla, president of Kedarnath Sabha, an association of local priests.

Another priest, Suresh Semwal, convener of the Char Dham Maha Panchayat and president, Gangotri Temple Committee, called the Char Dham Devasthanam Management Board Act a “black law”.

“Purohits from Char Dham temples will join the protest against the Prime Minister at Kedarnath. Why is the government doing this with Hindu temples alone when there is no law for other religions? They haven’t taken away any mosques or churches under their purview,” he said.

The Char Dham Devasthanam Management Board

The Uttarakhand government had tabled the Uttarakhand Char Dham Shrine Management Bill in the state Assembly in December 2019. The bill was passed in the Assembly and became the Uttarakhand Char Dham Devasthanam Management Act, 2019, and gazette notification was published on 15 January 2020.

The board was constituted with the CM as its chairman, state culture minister as Deputy Chairman, and chief secretary as ex-officio members along with other office-bearers.

However, the government’s move infuriated the priests who have been staging protests since the board’s constitution.

The protests compelled the state government to constitute a high-level committee headed by Badri Kedar Temple Committee chief Manohar Kant Dhyani in July this year. On 25 October, the Dhyani Committee submitted the interim report to the CM.

Presently, Uttarakhand Char Dham Devasthanam Board functions as a regulatory body for managing the affairs of 51 temples in the state. These include Gangotri, Yamunotri, Badrinath, Kedarnath, and 47 other temples affiliated with them.

The priests at all Char Dham shrines and their affiliated temples have persistently complained that the Uttarakhand government did not consult them before framing the Devasthanam Board law despite the purohits being the biggest stakeholders.

“Only pilgrimage purohits have their stakes in all four Char Dham shrines and the temples affiliated to them. Government should have consulted them before framing the law but it did not happen. It was intended to deprive Char Dham priests of their land rights and keep their properties in the possession of Devasthanam Board,” said Rajanikant Semwal, Gangotri temple committee spokesperson.

Protesting Maha Panchayat priests have also alleged that the Devasthanam board has been given undue power to take possession of every land and property owned by them including their homes or guest houses.

“Article 22 of Devasthanam Board act categorically stated that properties related to Char Dham and all religious places including government bodies or individuals will come under its possession immediately after the constitution of the board. This will not even allow the priests to reconstruct or build their own homes at shrine areas let alone live happily,” said Kotiyal.

Govt says protesters’ rights intact

The Uttarakhand government, however, has said the land rights of those protesting against the Devasthanam Board Act will remain intact.

Talking to ThePrint, state tourism and culture minister Satpal Maharaj, said: “There is a strong provision in the board act to keep their (priests’) religious and land rights safe. Tirth purohits have no reason to oppose the board or Prime Minister’s visit as their every concern will be addressed by the government. Board is not interfering with their religious activities. Their objections as to the land rights have nothing to do with Devasthanam Board and it will be resolved by the government.”

“Those protesting have not been able to tell the government what provision they are opposed to in Devasthanam Board law. On the contrary, for the first time ever any government in Uttarakhand has defined and enshrined rights of all stakeholders of Char Dham pilgrimage. It will benefit only pilgrimage priests in due course,” the minister added.

(Edited by Neha Mahajan)