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India flays assault on priests New Delhi, September 5 India today strongly condemned “this unprovoked criminal act of violence”, saying it went against the grain of friendship ties that have been existing since time immemorial between the peoples of the two countries. “The safety and security of Indian citizens abroad is an abiding and core concern of the Government of India and we continue to closely monitor the situation surrounding yesterday’s unfortunate incident,” External Affairs Ministry spokesman Vishnu Prakash said in a statement. External Affairs Minister SM Krishna, who is in Bangalore, said, “We are aware of the attack by the Maoists on the priests and we are in touch with the Government of Nepal.” India pointed out that as per the age-old tradition and custom, the Pashupatinath Temple appoints priests from India. In this instance, after receipt of appointment orders from the Prime Minister of Nepal on September 2, the two priests were doing “shuddikaran anushthan (purification)” behind closed doors for joining “puja” duties from September 5 as required by temple customs. “Around 1.30 pm on September 4, around 12 Maoist cadres, led by Punya Prasad Pandey and Ramesh Dongel (former members of the Pashupati Area Development Trust) barged into the room and assaulted and manhandled Indian priests.” The spokesman said the attack on Indian priests, Girish Bhatt and Raghavendra Bhatt, had caused deep anguish and serious concern in India. The matter was immediately taken up through the Indian Embassy in Kathmandu at the highest levels with the Nepal Government and New Delhi’s concerns were conveyed. “The Nepalese authorities at the highest level have assured us that they are taking additional steps to ensure the safety and security of Indian priests in Nepal to resolve the problem.” Shubhadeep Choudhury adds from Bangalore: Assault on two Indian priests at the famous Pashupatinath shrine in Kathmandu, Nepal, by Maoists yesterday has raised hackles in Karnataka, the home state of the two priests. “Traditionally, Brahmins from Kota and Salagram villages of Udupi district conduct “puja” at Pashupatinath. They were also the “rajpurohits” of Nepal and used to bless the King. The Maoists, of course, do not respect these traditions,” said BN Murthy, Karnataka unit president of the Viswa Hindu Parishad (VHP). Murthy said the temple row started when two priests of Pashupatinath Temple, Jog Bhatt and Ramachandra Bhatt, both hailing from Karnataka, quit their jobs last year and the Maoists, who were in power in Nepal at that time, appointed Nepalese Brahmins in their place.
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Act regrettable, says Nepal Amid tight security, the newly appointed Indian priests entered revered Hindu Temple Pahupatinath in Kathmandu today and started performing “puja”. The priests, Girish Bhatta and Raghavendra Bhatta, hail from Karnataka in India. They entered the temple at 9.02 am local time, after they completed the ritual of fasting in isolation for three days. Meanwhile, around 50 Maoists protesters, who were arrested on charge of trying to block vehicular movement near the temple area on Saturday, were released this evening. Citing continued protests unleashed by leaders and cadres of the Unified Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) protesting against the government decision to appoint Indian priests in Pashupatinath, the administration yesterday declared the surrounding area of the temple as “prohibited zone” to avoid untoward incidents. A group of Maoists cadres had thrashed the newly appointed priests yesterday. Meanwhile, Nepalese Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal has reassured the Indian Government that Nepal would ensure safety of the Indian priests. India had expressed serious concerns over the recent
events. Speaking at a programme on Saturday, Prime Minister Nepal said, “The government is committed to providing safety to the priests and safeguard the religious traditions by taking action against those who were involved in attacking Indian priests on Friday.” According to sources, Indian Foreign Minister SM Krishan, who also hails from Karnataka, had talked to Indian Ambassador to Nepal Rakesh Sood and asked him to take initiative for the safety and security of the Indian priests. Sood reportedly held a series of telephonic conversations with Maoists chairman Puspa Kamal Dahal, Dr Baburam Bhattarai and Krishna Bahadur Mahara and sought their assurance that their cadres would not attack Indian priests. Meanwhile, Sood and Minister for Culture Minendra Rijal reached the temple at 11.45 am and met the priests. During the meeting, Rijal, on behalf of the government, apologised for the Friday incident. The main priest, Mahabaleshwor Bhatta, who also hails from South India, said they were ready to discharge their duties, but the government should provide them security. Rijal assured him that the government would spare no effort in ensuring their safety and security and take stern action against the assailants. The government had deployed a police inspector for the safety and security of the main priest. Madhesi People’s Rights Forum (Democratic) leader Ram Janam Chaudhary has denounced the Maoists attack on Indian priests and urged the Maoists leadership to take immediate initiative to avoid such activities in future.
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