Shimla, April 29 Himachal Pradesh Leader of the Opposition (LoP) and former Chief Minister, Jairam Thakur, said on Tuesday that the state government has imposed a fee on religious pilgrimage by Hindus, equating it with Muslim ruler Aurangzeb's imposition of jizya tax on the majority community.
"The (Sukhvinder) Sukhu government is not giving up its "anti-Hindu" attitude. The Chief Minister sometimes makes anti-Hindu statements and sometimes comes up with some plan against Hindus. Now, the government has imposed a fee on the religious pilgrimage of Hindus," LoP Thakur told the media in a statement here.
He blamed the Congress-led state government for charging fee from the devotees who visit Churdhar for paying obeisance at the Shirgul Maharaj temple.
The former Chief Minister said "this is being strongly opposed by the local people. Charging fees from people on religious pilgrimage within its own state clearly shows the intention of the Congress government. Sukhu's government has become a government of fees in just two years".
The Churdhar peak in Sirmaur district is one of the highest peak of Shivalik ranges located at a height of 11,965 feet.
Below the summit is the Deodar-roofed, single-storey ancient temple of Srigul, dedicated to Lord Shiva (Chooreshwar Mahadev).
Blaming the government for charging five times the money for making a correction in the birth certificate of newborns, BJP leader Thakur said the state government wants that now the devotees who go on the religious pilgrimage to Churdhar should pay a fee to them.
He said a similar fee was imposed by Mughal emperor Aurangzeb on the pilgrimage of Hindus, which was called 'Teerth Yatra Mehsul' or 'jizya'.
"The Chief Minister has imposed a fee not only on people but also on horses and mules," LoP Thakur claimed.
He added that this step of the state government is malicious.
"The devotees who visit Churdhar go there to have darshan of Lord Shirgul Maharaj. They come all over the country, including Himachal Pradesh, as they have great faith in Shirgul Maharaj, the deity of people of Shimla, Solan, Sirmaur district and as well as adjoining areas of Uttarakhand."
He said that it is shameful for the state government to charge fees from devotees and it reflects "its anti-Hindu mentality".
LoP Thakur added that after coming to power Chief Minister Sukhu said he had come to power by defeating 97 per cent of Hindutva ideology.
"Perhaps that is why he's imposing tax on the religious pilgrimage of Hindus," he said.
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