Sena backs temple priests whose houses were raided by I-T

Searches were conducted on the offices and homes of two priests last Tuesday for alleged possession of unaccounted cash.

Mumbai, Dec 30: Reacting to Income Tax searches at offices and homes of two priests in Trimbakeshwar in Nashik earlier this week, Shiv Sena on Friday sought to know if the authorities will show the same courage when it comes to places of worship other than Hindu temples.

"Even if they (priests) do have money, the wealth is not created by illegal means. There is nothing wrong in earning money by working hard in extreme weather conditions," Sena, an ally of ruling BJP, said in an editorial in its mouthpiece "Saamana".

"Trimbakeshwar is a place where all kinds of Hindu rituals are performed for which hundreds of people from across the nation come. People say priests here must be having a lot of money. But how much money will priests have? Even if they do have money, the wealth is not collected by illegal means," it said.

According to reports , searches were conducted on the offices and homes of priests last Tuesday for alleged possession of unaccounted cash.

Searches are being conducted by the I-T Department and the Enforcement Directorate all over the country ever since Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in a bid to fight the menace of black money, announced the scrapping of old Rs 500 and Rs 1000 currency notes.

PTI