Hindu groups’ protests: Maha temple dismisses 114 Muslim employees
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Mumbai: In Maharashtra’s Ahilyanagar district, temple management dismissed 114 Muslim employees after protests by right-wing organisations. The Indian Express reported that the Shri Shaneshwar Devasthan Trust, which manages the Shani Shingnapur shrine in the district, dismissed 167 people, including the said number of Muslims, citing disciplinary issues such as prolonged absenteeism and non-performance.
According to the report, along with the Hindu organisations' objections, the NCP MLA of Ahmednagar Sangram Jagtap had threatened to start a protest on Saturday against the temple trust hiring Muslim employees.
Meanwhile, Appasaheb Shete, secretary of the Shri Shaneshwar Devasthan Trust, told TIE that as per the trust’s regulations, trustees have the authority to hire and dismiss members. The current dismissal of 167 employees is due to disciplinary issues, including misconduct. Among them, there are Muslims, but the trust only took appropriate action for their conduct.
“India is a democracy, and we uphold secular values,” TIE quoted Shete.
However, dismissed employees were shocked by the temple management’s action. One of them told TIE that those fired were all poor people who did not work inside the main temple but were involved in various projects run by the trust, such as gaushala. Losing their job put their futures in uncertainty, the person lamented.
A controversy erupted after right-wing groups opposed the trust recruiting Muslims. Last month, these groups staged a protest after Muslim workers were seen installing a grill on the sacred platform of the temple. The protests grew stronger, ultimately demanding the dismissal of Muslim employees from the temple altogether.
The NCP MLA Jatap claimed that the temple belongs to the Hindu faith and that Muslim employees being recruited for its operation is inappropriate. He announced earlier this week that a Hindu Dharma Protection march would be conducted on Saturday against the appointment of Muslims as employees in the temple.
