Tirupati Row: State Govts Should Not Have Rights Over Temples, Says Shankaracharya

Shankaracharya Sadanand Saraswati criticized political interference in temple administration and called for religious leaders to manage such institutions.

Shankaracharya Sadanand Saraswati said that the state governments should not be running religious institutions.

Source : PTI

Amid the row over alleged adulteration in the ghee used for preparing prasadam at Tirupati temple, Shankaracharya Sadanand Saraswati said that politicians should not be running temples. 

In a statement, the Shankaracharya said that state governments should not have rights over religious places. 

"How did the crime (adulteration of prasadam) take place and for how many days and why the coordinators did not take take cognisance of it, there is a need to think about it," said the seer in a statement. 

"Politicians and state governments are not supposed to run the temples. It is a matter of religion so religious leaders should be left to make decisions," he said. 

Last week, Shankaracharya Pragyananand Saraswati demanded severe punishment against YS Jagan Mohan Reddy saying that the former Andhra Pradesh Cheif Minister be handed over to the public for insulting the beliefs of Hindus and assaulting the Sanatan Dharma. 

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Speaking to ABP News, the Shankaracharya expressed his anger over the alleged discovery of animal fat in 'prasadam'. He lashed out at the accused administration and called it an insult to Hindu beliefs. He said that the act was an attempt to destroy the Sanatan Dharma and an assault on its dignity.

Meanwhile, on Monday, the Tirupati temple trust held a four-hour purification ritual in the shrine amid claims of beef tallow and lard being used to make the laddus offered to the deity and then given as 'prasadam' to the devotees.

Tirumala Tirupathi Devastanam (TTD) executive officer Shamala Rao and other officials of the Board participated in the ritual along with the priests which started at 6 am. 

The Telugu Desam Party in the state said a Special Investigation Team (SIT) headed by an IG-ranked officer will be formed to probe the alleged use of adulterated ghee in the laddus.