Lucknow: A controversy has broken out in Vrindavan after a contract for installing steel railings at the revered Banke Bihari Temple was awarded to a firm owned by Salim Ahmed. Several sadhus and saints have strongly opposed the decision, calling it an affront to religious sentiments, and have written to Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath demanding cancellation of the contract.
The local administration, however, has sought to distance itself from the row, stating that the project is being executed by a bank and not directly by the temple authorities.
The protest has been spearheaded by Dinesh Phalahari Maharaj, president of the Shri Krishna Janmabhoomi Sangharsh Nyas. In a letter addressed to the Chief Minister, he objected to the involvement of a contractor from another community in work related to the temple premises. He wrote that Vrindavan is the sacred land where Lord Krishna performed the Raas Leela and other divine acts and where Banke Bihari is enshrined, and therefore any decision linked to the temple must respect the sentiments of devotees.
“Where Lord Radha Krishna performed the Raas Leela and where Banke Bihari resides, the entry and involvement of those who consume cow meat and oppose Sanatan Dharma will not be tolerated by the people of Braj,” Phalahari Maharaj said in his letter. He further claimed that such a move would anger devotees as well as Lord Krishna himself.
Alleging ideological opposition, he wrote, “These people are against Sanatan Dharma and call Hindus kafir. Such individuals will not be allowed within a one kilometre radius of the temple premises.”
He also questioned the need to award the contract outside the Hindu community, stating, “There are thousands of Sanatani contractors available to install steel railings. Then why has this contract been given to the descendants of those who committed atrocities on Hindus and destroyed Mathura, Kashi and Ayodhya?”
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The letter urged the Chief Minister to intervene immediately and ensure that the contract is cancelled. It also demanded that all future works related to the temple be awarded only to contractors from the Hindu community to avoid similar disputes.
Responding to the controversy, officials from the local administration said the temple management had not directly awarded the contract. “This is a project being handled by a bank, and the administrative authorities have not issued the tender,” an official said, adding that the matter was being reviewed in view of the objections raised.
The issue has triggered fresh debate in Vrindavan over the intersection of religious sentiment, administrative decisions and the management of prominent temples. As the controversy grows, all eyes are now on the state government’s response to the demands raised by the sadhus.
