The Uttarakhand government could take a final call this week on withdrawing the contentious Devasthanam Board Act that regulates 51 temples under its purview, including the Char Dhams – Badrinath, Kedarnath, Yamnotri and Gangotri. This comes after an expert committee constituted by the government submitted a final report to chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami.
Former Rajya Sabha member Manohar Kant Dhyani, who is the head of the expert committee, submitted the report to the CM in Rishikesh on Sunday evening. Dhyani, who belongs to the priest community, did not divulge much about the content of the report. The veteran BJP leader, however, said that “some (priests) were opposing (Act) as they are not well informed”.
“We have made some recommendations to resolve the entire issue,” Dhyani said.
Another committee member, Sanjay Shastri, however, clearly said the recommendations have been given based on the “general sentiments”. “We are hoping that the government would take a final decision on the Act within this week,” Shastri told News18.
Meanwhile, cabinet minister Subodh Uniyal, member of the sub-committee, said the report will be filed by this evening. Chief minister Dhami said following the submission of the report, “the government will take a final call (on withdrawal) soon”.
The priests have been opposing the board as they believe their land rights were at stake following the implementation of the Act that was introduced by former chief minister Trivendra Singh Rawat in 2018.
Amid the ongoing protests by the priests, Dhami had formed a ministerial sub-committee to look into various aspects of the Devasthanam board. The government also constituted an expert committee, which consists of leaders having “connections” with priests.
According to BJP sources, the party cannot afford to face any opposition particularly on the Devasthanam Board issue in the wake of forthcoming assembly elections.
Why Devasthanam Has Political Relevance
The BJP government has been facing protests from the priest community since the idea of the Devasthanam Board was floated. The protests have intensified in the last couple of days. Last week, the priests held a massive demonstration in Dehradun outside the ministers’ house.
Many of the priests associated with the ruling BJP have threatened to tender their resignation from the primary membership of the party. Having known that the priests have clout in some of the assembly seats of Garhwal region, the BJP might intend to withdraw the Devasthanam Act to remove any roadblock ahead of the state polls in 2022.
The demand to revoke the board is gathering momentum following the announcement of the repeal of three contentious farm laws by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
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