Nearly hundred priests of Sri Jagannath Temple sat on a dharna demanding a ban on the entry of converted Hindus into the 12th century shrine.
PURI: Firing another salvo against ISKCON monks, nearly hundred priests of Sri Jagannath Temple here sat on a dharna on Thursday demanding a ban on the entry of converted Hindus into the 12th century shrine.
In a memorandum to Sri Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA), Sri Jagannath Sevayat Sammilanee (SJSS) said only 'Hindus by birth' should be allowed into the temple, one of the four important 'dhams' for Hindus in the country.
Earlier last week, the priests had criticised ISKON for holding 'untimely' Rath Yatra and display of the Lord's picture on the website of an American online shopping outlet.
Samilanee Secretary, Harehrushna Mahasuar, said a number of foreigners under the cover of ISKCON were trying to enter the temple. "Though their passports showed they were Hindus,
in reality they hailed from other religious groups," he claimed.
Citing two recent incidents in which the priests drove out nine Indonesian nationals from the temple, Mahasuar said they were Hindus on paper. But they were converts. "We are sure that they had changed religion in order to get an entry into the Puri temple which is a dream for many," he claimed.
The priests also expressed their anguish over the police act of facilitating the Indonesian nationals to enter the temple.
"We allowed them to enter the temple as their regilion was Hindu according to their pasports," said Puri Supernitendent of Police Asit Panigrahi.
The priests said that there was a clear sign board at the temple's gate which said that 'only Hindus' were allowed. "But these people are trying to enter the temple under ISKCON cover," said Samilaniee leader Somanath Khuntia.
The agitating priests said that when the Hindus across the globe respected other religions and never tried to hurt others religious sentiments, a section of people had been creating problems in Puri.
Official sources said the temple administration was planning to convene a meeting to decide which category of Hindus should be allowed entry into the temple.
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