The Maharashtra assembly on Friday passed a bill to reconstitute the public trust for the historic Ram temple at Ramtek, with the Opposition calling for strict eligibility rules to keep politicians and individuals facing charges of financial misconduct out of the institution's management.
Replying to a debate on the legislation to establish the 'Shri Ram Mandir Trust (Ramtek)' under direct government supervision, Minister Ashish Jaiswal said that a dedicated management committee and an executive officer will be appointed to safeguard the temple's movable and immovable properties, currently managed by a sub-divisional officer.
The timing of the bill makes matter more interesting, as temple members of Ram Janambhoomi Trust in Ayodha are under the suspicion of donation theft controversy.
The bill approved on July 10 seeks to replace the colonial-era trust structure with a modern governance framework.
Some of the key provisions of the bill are:
Reconstitution of the Trust
The newly constituted trust structure will replace the existing trust governing the historic Ram Temple at Ramtek, with an objective to modernise the administration and improving the management of the temple’s religious activities and properties.
Mandatory devotion to Lord Ram
The most controversial provision states that every managing trustee must be a devotee (bhakta) of Lord Ram.
Eligibility of trustees
The Bill specifies “devotion to Lord Ram” as a prerequisite for appointing the managing trustee under the new trust framework, thereby making religious commitment a formal eligibility requirement for that position.
Government Oversight
The legislation provides a statutory framework for the trust's functioning, where state government maintains the legal oversight over the functioning of the trust.
The opposition questioned the provision requiring the managing trustee to be a devotee of Lord Ram.
NCP SP MLA Jayant Patil contended that the eligibility criteria for the managing trustee position violate the constitutional provision prohibiting discrimination on religious grounds, and he called for the bill to be sent to a joint select committee of the House for further discussion.
Who will decide whether committee member is really devote of Ram? Anyone can make such declaration, asked Shiv Sena (UBT) MLA Varun Sardesai.
Opposition are also concerned about the appointment of politician in the management of Trust. According to the provision in the bill, Maharashtra government will form not more than 11 member committee to manage the trust.
The Bill specifies that Ashish Jaiswal, the MLA from Ramtek and current Minister of State for Finance who presented the Bill in the assembly, will serve as an ex-officio member of the trust.
Similiary the President of the Ramtek Municipal Council and one member of Bhosale family will be the ex-officio member of the council.
The opposition raised concerns about a potential conflict of interest in selecting the managing trustee.
Congress MLA Vijay Wadettiwar maintained that the temple’s administration should remain free from political influence and insisted that MLAs should not be appointed as members of the committee.
