Dinesh Gundu Rao criticizes Bhagwat for his ‘hand over temple property to devotees’ remark

Bengaluru: Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) Sarsanghchalak Mohan Bhagwat on Friday said Hindus must take over the reins of management of temples and ensure proceeds from collections are put to use for the welfare of the community alone.

Reacting to this, Congress leader Dinesh Gundu Rao said that the statement is meaningless and will have a negative impact on the priests’ community.

Gundu Rao said, “I strongly condemn Mohan Bhagwat’s statement. If temples are handed over to private entities, then who will secure the lives of countless priests? It is not a profitable business. They do not get proper compensation for the work they do. His statement will not only affect priests but also thousands of other temple labourers.”

“There are 36 thousand temples under the ABC category in our state. The total assets of these temples are about Rs 10 lakh crore. Who will protect the assets? Hence, it is better if temples are controlled by the government,” he added.