The appointment of presidents of the Governmentalised temples in the State stalled due to political apathy

• Impact of temple Governmentalisation !

• The ‘Shri Vitthal-Rukmini Devasthan Committee’ in Pandharpur has had no President for more than four years !

Pandharpur, Maharashtra – The post of President of Shri Vitthal-Rukmini Devasthan Samiti in Pandharpur has been lying vacant for the past four years. The former President Atul Bhosle resigned before the Assembly elections of 2019. After this, no one has been appointed there yet and the co-chairman is carrying on the present administration. On 3rd July 2022, the 5-year term of the ‘Shri Vitthal-Rukmini Devasthan Committee’ ended and the earlier committee was extended. The appointment of a President in important temples like Pandharpur, a place of worship for lakhs of devotees, has been stalled due to political apathy.

In 2017, Atul Bhosle was appointed as the President during the tenure of the BJP-Shiv Sena. The rank of State Minister is also there for this post. Therefore, this presidency is viewed only in terms of rehabilitating political figures. Pandharpur is a most important place of worship for the Varkari sect and currently around one lakh Varkaris and devotees visit Pandharpur. Therefore, it is not appropriate for the post of President of the committee to be vacant for more than four years at such an important pilgrimage site. After the resignation of Atul Bhosle, during the tenure of the ‘Maha Vikas Aghadi’ Government, the President was not appointed due to the controversy regarding which party this temple would go to.

The president post of ‘The Paschim Maharashtra Devasthan Management Committee has been vacant for about three years !

In the year 2019, the ‘Maha Vikas Aghadi’ came to power after the transfer of power in Maharashtra. The ‘Paschim Maharashtra Temple Management Committee’ at Kolhapur was dissolved by the alliance on 8th April 2021. The post of President of the management committee is currently held by the Collector of Kolhapur. Mahesh Jadhav (BJP), who was working on this committee then, moved the Court against the ‘Maha Vikas Aghadi’s decision to dismiss the committee before his tenure. Hence, no one was appointed here. In short, even after two years and nine months, no one has been appointed here. There are more than 3,000 temples under Paschim Maharashtra Devasthan Samiti including Jyotiba Temple, and Shree Mahalaxmi Devi Temple which is one of the three and a half Shaktipeeths in the State. Therefore, it is unfortunate that the committee does not have a full-time President.