Temple 'cleansed' after Prashant Kishore visits with minority candidate

Priests at a temple in Bihar’s Madhubani district performed a “purification” ritual, following a visit by Jan Suraaj Party (JSP) founder Prashant Kishor, who brought with him Muslim candidate Parvez Alam.

The incident took place on Tuesday, October 28, when Kishore and Alam visited the temple’s garbh grih (sanctum sanctorum) and offered prayers to Lord Shiva and others.

In an interview with IANS, Priest Shrawan Kumar said that before the visit, he was informed that Kishore would offer prayers, for which they had arranged prayer materials.

“I consented and prepared everything, but Kishor did not arrive until around 7:30 p.m. The temple usually closes to visitors after 8 pm. Later, he came along with his party’s candidate and performed the puja,” the priest said.

Unaware of any Muslim entering temple grounds: Priest

He claimed that he was unaware of any Muslim entering the temple grounds, as Parvez was dressed in traditional Mithila clothing.

“We later learned that Parvez Alam, the MLA from Benipati, is Muslim. After seeing the photos, we decided to purify the temple and perform Rudra Abhishek to purify it.”

Following their visit, temple priests performed a ritual purification of the sanctum. They cleaned it using Panchgavya, a mixture of milk, ghee, curd, cow urine, and dung, along with Gangajal, a report by The New Indian Express stated.

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The visit had later sparked locals to object to a Muslim entering the religious space, which prompted the priests to carry out the ritual.

JSP candidate Parvez Alam is contesting from the Benipatti assembly in Madhubani district.

Earlier, in October, Kishor had announced that he would not contest the Bihar polls, a decision for the party’s greater good.

“If Jan Suraaj Party wins the Bihar polls, it will have a nationwide impact. The compass of national politics will point in a different direction,” Kishor had asserted.

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