Making the party’s soft Hindutva line more starkly visible, the Congress government in Madhya Pradesh has decided to increase the honorarium of priests by five times and bring in an Act to make rivers of the State a living unit.
The State Government is committed to the welfare of every section of society, said Religious Trust and Endowments Minister P.C. Sharma, adding that “a proposal will be presented in the Cabinet meeting to hike the honorarium of temple priests, math mahants, narrators and mujavirs”.
An Act will be brought in to make the rivers of the State a living unit, said Mr. Sharma.
Pilgrimage sites
He said all work related to the planned development of pilgrimage sites and providing facilities to pilgrims would be completed on a priority basis.
Mr. Sharma was speaking to media persons over the weekend at the first meeting of the newly constituted Department of Spirituality at the Mantralaya.
The Ministry has issued necessary instructions to instal indicators along with marking for the Narmada Parikrama Path besides development of the Omkareshwar Parikrama Path and the Ram Van Path Gaman, said an official here on Sunday.
Ahead of the November-December 2018 Assembly elections in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh, the Congress had adopted a soft Hindutva policy to counter the ruling BJP in these three States.
In its manifesto in Madhya Pradesh, the Congress had promised to set up gau shalas (cowsheds) in every gram panchayat, build new Adhyatmik Vibhag (Department of Spirituality) and open new Sanskrit schools across the State.
Besides, it had also promised to develop the ‘Ram Path’ – a mythical route taken by Lord Ram during his 14 years of exile.