Kathmandu: Nepal's dethroned King Gyanendra, who was once seen as the incarnation of Lord Vishnu, on Saturday appealed to the people not to "politicize" the dispute at Pashupatinath Temple, which was stormed by the Maoists cadres defying a court order.
Gyanendra was the patron of Pashupatinath temple before he was deposed last year by the Constituent Assembly dominated by the CPN-Maoist. Maoist Prime Minister Prachanda has replaced him as the patron of the world famous temple.
Gyanendra expressed concern over the recent episode of controversy surrounding the historic temple.
"I appeal all not to politicize the current Pashupatinath Temple issue and maintain the religious harmony for which Nepal is adored the world over" said the former monarch in a statement issued on Saturday.
According to media reports, he also appealed that the regular rituals and religious activities at the Pashupatinath continue unhindered.
The row over the storming of the temple by the Maoists is set to take the form of a sustained agitation, with a 'struggle committee' being formed to step up pressure on the Prachanda-led government to implement an apex court order.
The former guerrillas stormed the shrine on Thursday defying Nepal's Supreme Court order staying the appointment of Nepalese priests following the sacking of Indian Brahmins involved in the traditional rituals at the temple for the past 300 years.
Maoists and cadres of the Young Communist League (YCL) stormed the temple on Thursday escorting the new priest to replace Indian Brahmins, a move that triggered immediate protests from main opposition party Nepali Congress and Hindu bodies and people residing in the vicinity of the temple.
The local 'Bhandaris', who have assisted in the centuries-old worship at the Pashupatinath, and the civil society people today formed a 32-member 'struggle committee'to launch an agitation if the CPN-Maoist-led government fails to abide by the Supreme Court verdict that directed the authorities to allow the Indian Priests to conduct the traditional rituals at the historic shrine.
We have set two pre-conditions for dialogue with the government which includes allowing the Indian priests to resume their worship until new arrangements and to guarantee the assets of the Pashupatinath temple, said Shiv Sharanraj Bhandari, the coordinator of the 'struggle committee'.
Bhandari said the government has politicised the issue by interfering in the affairs of famous temple.
The Maoists, who waged a decade-long insurgency, joined mainstream politics after a 2006 peace deal with the interim government led by G. P. Koirala and formed a coalition under its supremo Prachanda after it emerged as the single largest party in the April 10 constitutional assembly polls last year.
The appeal of Gyanendra, who has kept a low profile since he moved out of the Narayanhiti Palace in central Kathmandu and shifted to a forest lodge on the outskirts of the capital, could ignite the issue further as the Maoists could attack the former monarch for trying to get a foothold in the politics of the country with the issue.
The Maoists had played a key role in the abolition of 240-year-old monarchy in Nepal last year.
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