Politics of funding religious outreach: Examining nationwide schemes

As the AAP govt promises salaries to temple and gurudwara priests, a look at other parties nationwide that have made similar announcements or rolled out such schemes

Last week, former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal announced the Pujari Granthi Samman Yojana, promising a monthly salary of Rs 18,000 for priests of temples and granthis of gurudwaras if the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), which he leads, were to return to power in the Delhi Assembly elections.

 

AAP sources said the party would work out a formula for selecting the priests who would be eligible for the scheme. The announcement stirred the Sangh Parivar, with the Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) urging the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to include a similar promise in its manifesto for the Delhi polls due