Appointment of a Christian supervisor for Shri Vajreshwari Mandir cancelled by the ‘Devasthan’ !

Outcome of ‘Shambhudurga Pratishthan’s alertness and cautiousness !

Thane, 14^th April – Mr Francis Joseph Lemos was appointed as supervisor of the historically recognised Shri Vajreshwari Yogini Devi Sansthan (Sansthan) located at Bhiwandi. ‘Shambhudurga Pratishthan’ warned the Sansthan of staging agitations if the appointment was not immediately cancelled. The Sansthan, later, cancelled the appointment of Mr Francis. ‘Hindu Rashtra Sena’ had given a similar warning to the Sansthan.

1. The letter sent by ‘Shambhudurga Pratishthan’ gave a time limit to the Sansthan till the 15^th of April 2023 for cancellation of its decision and warned to stage agitations in the temple premises from the 23^rd of April 2023 if its demand was not met.

2. Mr Francis Joseph Lemos was entrusted with the duties like welcoming and entertaining donors and VVIPs, Government officers, etc.; looking after legal matters, collecting rent, and surveying the land owned by the Sansthan, besides helping in temple management.

Appointing a Christian as a supervisor of the temple was inviting new trouble for the temple ! – Shambhudurga Pratishthan

In the letter sent by Shambhudurga Pratishthan to the Sansthan, it was stated that Christian missionaries have built prayer houses in the native settlements in the Thane District and have developed contacts with people from the other communities. It has been observed that Hindus coming in contact with them, later, give up Hindu Dharma and get converted. Many pro-Hindu organisations are working to stop the conversion of Hindus by Christian missionaries. In such a situation, appointing a Christian for the post of supervisor of Vajreshwari Mandir was like inviting more trouble for Hindu Dharma.

Christian selling laddoos (sweets) in temple premises ?

Francis Joseph Lemos has been informed, through a letter, about the cancellation of his appointment as a supervisor of the Sansthan. The letter has been made viral on social media by the Sansthan. The letter also states that the permission granted to him earlier by Sansthan for selling laddoos has not been cancelled. It is not clear from the letter whether the laddoos are sold as prasad or just as sweets. A representative of a daily newspaper ‘Dainik Sanatan Prabhat’ tried to contact the trustees of Sansthan to find the facts, but his call was not answered; therefore, the issue of a Christian making laddoos for devotees visiting the temple, is likely to become contentious.