Padma Vibhushan awardee Rambhadracharya against UP govt plan to take control of Banke Bihari temple

Renowned Ramkatha narrator and Padma Vibhushan awardee Jagadguru Rambhadracharya Tuesday questioned the Uttar Pradesh government's move to take control of Vrindavan's Thakur Banke Bihari shrine, saying temples should be spared from such steps if those cannot be taken against mosques and churches.

Responding to questions on the state government's plan to set up a trust for the temple and develop a Banke Bihari corridor, he expressed strong disapproval.

"I do not agree with the government's decision to constitute a trust for the temple," Rambhadracharya told reporters at Tulsi Peeth Chhattisgarh Kunj in Vrindavan, where he had been conducting a week-long recital of the Shrimad Bhagwat Katha.


"I fail to understand why the government wants to bring temples under its control and seize their funds when it cannot acquire any mosque or church," he added.

The Uttar Pradesh government has cited the need for better facilities for lakhs of devotees visiting the temple as the reason for setting up a trust through an ordinance and for building the corridor.