No Move to Mortgage Gold, Silver of Temples; LoP Trying to Destabilise Govt: Himachal Deputy CM

Shimla: Deputy Chief Minister Mukesh Agnihotri on Thursday said Leader of Opposition Jai Ram Thakur is "deliberately" trying to "destabilise the government" and "create sensation", and asserted in the Himachal Pradesh assembly that the state government was not mortgaging gold and silver of temples.

Replying to a question by Congress MLA Malendra Rajan and supplementary questions by BJP's Sudhir Sharma and Jai Ram Thakur, Agnihotri targeted the LoP, asking him which temple's proposal to mortgage gold and silver was he talking about.

"It is the imagination of the Leader of the Opposition to create sensation and the government has no such plans and the LOP should speak with responsibility", he added.

Thakur, a former chief minister, had earlier asked if the government had a proposal to mortgage gold and silver of temples in the state.

This comes amid a political slugfest over the financial health of Himachal Pradesh, following a government decision to defer payments of the state's employees.

While the opposition BJP has termed it a financial crisis, the chief minister has called them reform measures to make the state "self-reliant".

Replying to the main question on Damtal Ram Gopal Temple, Agnihotri said that Rs 9 crore sanctioned for the renovation of the temple has been withheld for the time being.

A committee headed by the secretary of the language and culture department is gathering information about the temple and another committee headed by the additional district magistrate would start the renovation work, he said.

The Damtal Ram Gopal Temple owns 17,418 kanal (88,11,017.2 sq m) of land, including 16,000 kanal (73,349.3 sq m) in Damtal, 145 kanal (73,349.3 sq m) in Shahpur and 548 kanal (2,77,210 sq m) in Pathankot and it has fixed deposits worth Rs 15 crore but the temple's own income was only Rs 2 crore, the deputy chief minister said.

Five hotels, 12 crushers, two petrol pumps and some other commercial establishments are located on its land and the government has sought details of expenditure on the temple, he said.

A sum of Rs 36 lakh has been spent on development and renovation of the temple during the past three years ending July 31, 2024, Agnihotri informed the state assembly.