Seers representing various monastic orders and groups held a Sanatan Dharma Sansad at the Mahakumbh on Monday and urged the central and state governments to hand over all temples to sadhus and priests and resolve the dispute over the Krishna Janmasthan temple in Mathura along the lines of the Ram temple in Ayodhya.
The meeting concluded in the evening after the passage of a seven-point resolution and five demands to be placed before the Centre and the state governments.
The resolutions included the formation of a Sanatan Hindu Board through an ordinance of the central government. Envisaged as an autonomous body, the board will have jurisdiction over the entire country. There will be 11 members on the board, including a chairman. A sub-committee of some big Hindu groups will assist the board and there will be an advisory body comprising retired judges and bureaucrats.
The five demands are the immediate resolution of the Krishna Janmasthan temple dispute and the construction of a bigger temple; organising puja in keeping with the Vedic tradition in all temples; freeing all temples from government control; establishing a cowshed, a dispensary and a gurukul in every temple; and providing financial assistance to poor families to prevent them from converting to other religions.
Hindus and Muslims are engaged in a legal battle over the Krishna Janmabhoomi and Shahi Idgah in Mathura. The Hindu side claims that the mosque was built at the birthplace of Lord Krishna by demolishing a portion of the temple during Mughal ruler Aurangzeb's reign in 1670.
Mathura MP and actress Hema Malini also attended the Sanatan Dharma Sansad and supported the demands and the resolutions.
Senior members of the All India Akhara Parishad, including its president Ravindra Puri, stayed away from the meeting.
Sources in the Akhara Parishad said they decided against taking part in the Dharma Sansad because the VHP and the RSS had opposed the demand for a Sanatan Board.