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| Pujaris, KD, SSH up in arms against Dharamarth Trust president | | | EARLY TIMES REPORT
JAMMU, June 7: The Dharamarth Truse of which Member Parliament Dr Karan Singh is the sole trustee is in news these days. It has been in news for negative reasons. A number of Pujaris and a few organizations such as Karanti Dal and Shiv Sena Hindustan SSH) are up in arms against the Trust president, who has been holding this office for the last ten years, "something never happened in the recent history of this very old and one of the richest trusts in India." They have been accusing the president of the trust of indulging in "corrupt practices", "amassing wealth", "tinkering with the trust records to promote his personal interests" and of forming a "nexus between him and his trustworthy pujaris to loot the trust property and offering and donations."
While the Karanti Dal and a number of Pujaris have leveled very serious charges against the trust president and demanding an inquiry into the functioning of the president and the trust, the SSH has accused the pujaris of Shri Raghunath Ji Temple of resorting to means which have led to the closure of the "historic Raghunath Temple". "Perhaps it's first time in history that the temple is closed due to the conflict between the management of Dharmarth Trust and the priests of the temple", the SSH has said, and added, that "Not only this gives bad name to the tradition of Jammu, but the economy of Jammu is also dependent on the devotees coming to Jammu as nearly ten to fifteen thousand visit the temple daily" So much so that the SSH has urged the trust management to appoint new pujaris. Its argument is that the pujaris are on a "looting spree".
As far as certain enraged pujaris and Karanati Dal are concerned, they have raised a number of questions about the functioning of the trust president and asked Dr Karan Singh to intervene in the matter so that the "sanctity of the trust is maintained" and "it is run by honest and dedicated persons". They have even pointed fingers towards Dr Karan Singh and said that "his decision to allow the present president to manage the affairs of the trust for an indefinite period has created many doubts in the minds of the general public about the intentions of the sole trustee". Why has Dr Karan Singh not replaced the president, who has become a dictator and whose actions have annoyed everyone, except perhaps a couple of pujaris of Shri Raghunath Ji Temple", they have asked. They have also pointed out that the "present president of the trust has snatched all the powers from the trust secretary" and that "it appears that it is not the scholarly and honest Dr Karan Singh JI, who is the sole trustee of the trust, but it Thakur Diwakar Singh ji, who has taken over the control of the trust for reasons best known to Dr Karan Singh Ji".
A pujari and a couple of Karanti Dal leaders have even gone to the extent of saying that the "trust members are no more than rubber stamps as their only job is to endorse the decisions taken by the trust president unilaterally".
Whatever be the truth, a feeling has gained ground that all is not well in the Dharamarth Trust. The SSH has rightly asked the trust management to sort out the difference between the pujaris, who have been demanding hike in their salaries, and the management so that Shri Raghunath Ji Temples functions smoothly and devotees visit it as before. Dr Karan Singh, whose image is being tarnished by the ongoing controversy as well as because of the alleged corrupt practices indulged in by the trust president and his men in the Shri Raghunmath Ji temple and other temples in the state, needs to intervene in the matter and put everything back on the rails. People of Jammu have high expectations from Dr Karan Singh and Dharamarth Trust. He should not allow any functionary of the trust to create a situation that brings bad name to Dr Karan Singh and his family members.
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