Why is there a 'Waqf Board' for mosques but no 'Hindu Board' for temples, asks SC lawyer

The government including the Maharashtra government has taken over big temples on the grounds that the management of these temples is not proper, the lawyer said

Just as the government has established a 'Waqf Board' for the protection of mosques and madrassas, why does it not establish a 'Hindu Board' for the protection and management of temples and hand them over to the board instead of taking them over, asked noted Supreme Court lawyer Vishnushankar Jain.

According to him, the government including the Maharashtra government has taken over big temples on the grounds that the management of these temples is not proper.

Jain, who is fighting for 'Gyanvapi' in Varanasi and had represented the Hindu Mahasabha in the Ramjanmabhoomi-Babri Masjid case, said: “Officials associated with Hindu dharma such as Shankaracharyas, Mahamandaleshwars, Mathadhipathis among others be given representation on this board and given the status of public servant,” he said.

Jain and Hindu Janajagruti Samiti’s Ramesh Shinde were addressing a news conference held in the backdrop of the ongoing State level 'Maharashtra Mandir Nyas Parishad' of temple trustees at Jalgaon.

Jain further said that in the 1995, the then Union Government passed the “unconstitutional” 'Waqf Act' to appease Muslims.

“Based on that, the members of the Waqf Board were given the status of public servants. Except Muslims, no other community has been given the status of public servants. After the Waqf Board claims any property, the property is surveyed. Thereby the Wakf Board is empowered to register the property directly with the Registrar as Wakf Property. There is no provision to inform the owner of that land while doing so. In 2005, the Wakf Board also declared the Taj Mahal as a Wakf property,” said Advocate Jain.