Kathmandu: Maoist activists on Tuesday threatened
to launch a major agitation if the government heeds to the
recommendations of the selection committee and appoints Indian
priests for Nepal`s famous Pashupatinath Temple.
Activists of the Maoist affiliated `Struggle Committee`
formed to appoint Nepali Priest at Pashupati have opposed the
move to appoint two Indians for the post.
The selection committee of the Pashupati Area Development
Trust (PADT) has recommended the two Indian priests from
Karnataka for the holy shrine which traditionally had south
Indian priests.
"We will agitate if the Prime Minister approves the
appointment of two Indian priests, Girish Bhatta and
Raghamendra Bhatta brought from South India, as per the
recommendation made by the PADT," said Rishi Prasad Sharma,
chief of the Struggle Committee.
"We will resort to sit-in, padlock, fasting and
demonstration to show protest if the government appoints the
Indian priests," he told reporters here.
Sharma alleged that the temple collects Rs 100 million to
Rs 150 million fund annually from the devotees, 90 percent of
which were sent to India by the priests in the past.
Bureau Report
