Uma Bharti welcomes TN Govt's move on temple priests

Chennai, May 22 (UNI) Bharatiya Janshakti founder Uma Bharti today welcomed the Tamil Nadu government's decision to allow qualified people from all castes to become temple priests and urged it to introduce similar reforms in other religions as well.

''The government cannot choose Hinduism alone for experiments.

Hindus are not guinea pigs,'' Ms Bharti, who was here on the 10th day of her 'Bharat Protection Yatra,' told a press conference.

She said the government should also take steps to ensure that no woman in the state remained behind a veil.

On the criticism that the government's decision on temple priests contravened 'agama shastra,' she said the 'shastra' dealt with the qualification of a person and not on the caste.

Stating Hindus would always welcome reforms, Ms Bharti urged the government to give proper training to people before allowing them to work as priests.

Many temples in north India had priests belonging to the OBC, Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribes. The male priest at the famous Puri Jagannath Temple was a tribal, she added.

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