Money donated to Hindu temples going to 'vidharmis' and minorities: Pragya Thakur

Bhopal Lok Sabha MP and BJP leader Pragya Singh Thakur on Sunday said Hindu temples and shrines should be freed from the government control as the money donated to them is going to “vidharmis” and minorities.

Thakur also said the Bharat Bhakti Akhada, constituted during the Kumbh mela held in Prayagraj, will stage protests for freeing temples from the control of the government.

“Our (Hindu) places (temples and shrines) remain under the government control with the district collector as chairman (of temple committees). The money (donated to) Hindu temples, including the big ones, is going to minorities. It goes to 'vidharmis',” she said while inaugurating Bharat Bhakti Akhada's office at a complex in Bhopal.

The MP said the Bharat Bhakti Akhada will oppose the government's control of Hindu shrines and temples. “Bharat Bhakti Akhada opposes this (government control), will fight against it, will stage protests and demand that the government free all our temples from its control,” she said.

Thakur also said Hindus will take control, protect and develop their temples.

The BJP MP said the donation received by temples should be spent on the development of Hindus. "The office of the Akhada in Bhopal will become the centre of religious work, of the protection of nation and patriotism," she added.

Thakur is one of the accused in the 2008 Malegaon bomb blast case. She had stirred many controversies in the past, including her comments on Mahatma Gandhi's assassin Nathuram Godse for which she later tendered an apology.

Before that, Thakur had also made controversial remarks about IPS officer Hemant Karkare, who was killed during the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks. She had said that Karkare had died as she had "cursed" him for torturing her. She had even blamed the "black magic" of opposition parties for the death of senior BJP leaders Arun Jaitley and Sushma Swaraj.

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