Andhra Pradesh - Tirupati   

`Stop meddling in religious affairs'

Staff Reporter

Seer visits Hathiramji Mutt

Tirupati: Swamy Swaroopanandendra Saraswathi of Sarada Peetham, Visakhapatnam, advised the Government to keep its hands off the administration of mutts, peethams and other religious and spiritual centres.

The Peethadhipathi visited the Hathiramji Mutt here and met newly-appointed Mahant Swami Arjun Das on Thursday. The pontiff's statement assumes significance in the context of the Supreme Court verdicts on land worth several crores spread over Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra, which are now free from Government intervention following the apex court's verdict.

Speaking to the media, the pontiff said that the mutts had been endowed with the task of maintaining the well-being of a society and the administration has no right to dictate terms to a religious body. The Supreme Court verdict delivered the message loud and clear that it was not for the Governments to intervene in the administration of religious bodies.

He was took exception to Government's plans to sell off mutt lands on the pretext that they were being grabbed by land mafia. "The mutts can take care of their properties and the Government should extend help from outside," he said.

He congratulated Arjun Das for winning a decades-old suit and setting the path for similar endowments-related cases.

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