Hyderabad: Chilkur Balaji Temple archaka, and head of Temples Protection Movement, C S Rangarajan severely condemned the action of Endowments Department officials and a few others for filing false cases against the priests.
B Ramasharma of Secunderabad Santoshimatha temple was arrested last week on the charges of stealing sarees of the Goddess of the temple. He was serving as chief priest in the same temple. Rangarajan questioned the premise of the case at the first place.
The offerings in kind to the deity other than gold and silver, belongs to the Archakas as per Agama Sastras and also it was upheld in the Endowments Act. Section 144 was amended to provide this freedom to the Archakas which was supposed to be authenticated by a specific scheme for each temple. However, the amended section is not implemented for unknown reasons.
This ambiguous situation has led to this false case.
Making false allegations on Archakas and torturing them is very painful and the police have no locus standi to take the initiative and file a case.
In case the Department was feeling aggrieved, it could have taken disciplinary action on the Archaka, which is also under debate.
Treating priests as thieves and sending them to jail is annoying. Questions which the Endowments Department needs to answer: When the legislation says that Sarees offered to the deities belong to the Archakas, how can you file police cases on them for stealing sarees ?
When will there be clarity on the service conditions of Archakas who are the Religious heads of the temples. They cannot be subjected to such insults. The garments presented to the Swami and the Mother belong to the priests after the worship. Hence, the Temples Protection Movement demands that the case against B Rama Sharma be withdrawn. He should be reinstated and his suspension revoked. He has to be paid compensation for the turmoil he had to face. (NSS)
