LUCKNOW: UP Power Minister and close confidante of PM Narendra Modi, AK Sharma, faced a massive protest from the Sewayats of the Banke Bihari temple against the proposed corridor in Mathura-Vrindavan on Saturday.
The protesting Sewayats, Goswamis, did not let the minister take darshan of the deity and pulled the curtain down on the idol as soon as Sharma reached in front of it inside the temple.
As per local sources, when the minister arrived at the temple, the Sewayats, who are opposing the Rs 600-crore Banke Bihari Corridor proposed by the state government and approved by the Supreme Court, were prepared to protest his visit. The minister was not even given prasad.
The Goswami community members are hereditary priests who have been engaged in prayers and priestly duties at the Banke Bihari temple in Vrindavan for centuries.
“With the arrival of the minister, around 15–20 women, belonging to the family of Goswamis, thronged the temple premises wearing black bands. They surrounded the minister and started shouting ‘Hai hai’ and ‘Mantriji go back’,” said a local source.
In the wake of the rising build-up, the officials present on the spot escorted the minister out of the temple from Gate Number 4.
The Supreme Court has given the go-ahead for the Banke Bihari Corridor, an ambitious plan to ease crowd congestion and enhance the pilgrimage experience around the shrine.
The state government has brought an ordinance to create a Trust to run the temple and oversee work on the proposed corridor. Significantly, the Supreme Court has allowed the Uttar Pradesh government to use temple funds for land acquisition to build the corridor - a project envisaged to ease crowd pressure around the temple.
While the state government claims it will help pilgrim movement and improve their safety by avoiding stampede-like situations, locals fear the project will damage Vrindavan’s spiritual and cultural heritage. Over 250 buildings would have to be demolished to carve out the corridor.
The Supreme Court allowed the state government to use Rs 500 crore from the temple’s funds to acquire land. The acquired land will be in the name of the deity or the temple trust. The apex court also permitted authorities to acquire up to five acres of land around the temple for the project.
The division bench of the apex court, comprising Justice Bela M Trivedi and Justice Satish Chandra Sharma, said in the order that the land acquired for the corridor would be registered in the name of the temple deity, that is, Banke Bihari, or the managing trust.
The court made it clear that the approval for the corridor project was being given keeping the stampede of 2022 in mind.
Meanwhile, on Saturday, after exiting the temple without having darshan of Banke Bihari, Power Minister AK Sharma reached the Gaddi of Jugal Goswami at VIP Road.
There, too, he was thronged by protesting women, four of whom were called to meet the minister.
While meeting the protesting women, the minister made the state government’s stand on the corridor clear, saying that the government always worked with public welfare as its priority.
“You can see for yourself, the unmanageable crowd here. The state government is sensitive to such a scenario as it could lead to some mishap. The state government will keep the interest and welfare of the local people in mind and the authorities will go ahead with the proposed project taking everyone along,” assured the minister.
“I am also a part of the same government which has worked for Sanatan values by rendering services to Shree Krishna, Shree Ram, Lord Kashi Vishwanath and Goddess Vindhyavasini. We do not intend to hurt the sentiments of anyone,” added Sharma.