Mahabodhi Temple Trust should be under complete control of Buddhists: Athawale

Mumbai, Sept 16 (PTI) Union minister Ramdas Athawale on Tuesday demanded that the Mahabodhi temple in Bihar's Bodh Gaya be brought under the full control of Buddhists.

Addressing a press conference here, he said that on October 14, a protest rally will be held from Veermata Jijabai Bhosale Botanical Udyan and Zoo in Byculla here to the Azad Maidan in south Mumbai to press for the demand for complete control of the Mahabodhi Temple Trust to Buddhists.

Athawale said the Mahabodhi Mahavihar is a place of supreme faith for Buddhists.

"The Mahabodhi Mahavihar Management Trust currently has four Hindus, four Buddhists and the District Collector as its members. If the Collector is Hindu, then he becomes the chairman of the trust," he said.

"The Mahabodhi Mahavihar should be under the complete control of Buddhists," the minister, who heads the Republican Party of India (Athawale) faction, said.

The rituals which Gautam Buddha opposed are taking place on the premises of the Mahabodhi Mahavihar, he said. PTI PR NP