KATHMANDU, FEBRUARY 23

Two cases have been filed at the Supreme Court against the authorities' decision to use 108 kilograms of gold jalhari at the sacred Shiva Linga inside the holy Pashupatinath temple.

Provincial lawmaker Narottam Baidhya and advocate Nikita Dhungana filed the cases against the prime minister, the Cabinet, Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation, Pashupati Area Development Trust, and other authorised organisations operating daily rituals at the temple.

The plaintiffs said that coating such a massive amount of gold on the temple's Shiva Linga was against cultural tradition. Further, they said it was not right of the government to spend such a huge amount of money when it was struggling to provide COVID-19 vaccine for the public.

They also added that gold plating of the Shiva Linga was against the Ancient Monument Preservation Act-1956, which does not allow any kind of modification at heritage sites.

Further, they argued that placing such a huge amount of gold could break the Shiva Linga of one of the most sacred holy sites for Hindus in the world.

The PADT have already proceeded with making the golden jalhari after Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli on January 25 declared that Rs 300 million would be provided for the purpose after performing special puja at the temple. The culture minister had, within a few days, provided the amount.

'The plan to gild the sacred symbol came as a PM's political stunt to woo the majority of Hindu followers in the country when the PM had called for mid-term election,' lawmaker Baidhya said. He further said that the government should not prioritise one religion as we live in a secular state. 'The PM's act is against the spirit of our constitution,' he added.

The PADT has also contributed an additional Rs 200 million for the purpose. Additionally, authorities also planned to spend Rs 300 million to gold plate the two-storey roof of Pashupati temple and Basaha, an ox, also a mount of Lord Shiva which is outside the temple.

A version of this article appears in the print on February 24, 2021, of The Himalayan Times.