Pashupati area is not a place for politics and making speeches: Minister Tamang

Kathmandu, May 10: Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation, Hit Bahadur Tamang has said that Pashupat area is a holy place for followers of Sanatan religion spread all over the world and it is not a place to make speeches.

Addressing the 38th anniversary programme of the Pashupati Area Development Trust (PADT) today, Minister Tamang said, satirically that ‘Rashtradev’ (meaning lord Pashupatinath) will not come to Pashupatinath to do politics and not allow the Trust to become a platform for politics.

He said, “No one is allowed to come to a non-political place, a religious place, and involved in politics. You should not come to a religious place and do politics.”

Similarly, he said that the PADT should not be seen as a tool to fulfill political interests of anyone. The Culture Minister argued that he has found that the PADT has been used as a tool for politics lately, and promised not to let it happen again. He said, “Pashupat area is a non-political spiritual holy place, work should be done here to achieve religious objectives only.”

He said that the Pashupati area, listed in the World Heritage List, is an important centre of oriental philosophy and culture, so it has played an important role in making Nepal known to the world.

Minister Tamang said that it is necessary to create a pleasant physical and spiritual environment for religious tourists in this area to facilitate the entry of millions of Hindus from India and other parts of the world.

He said, “If we can create an amiable and spiritual environment in the Pashupati region, it will make an unprecedented contribution to the economic progress and progress for the development of the country. Everyone’s support is necessary for the development here.”

Likewise, Dr Milan Kumar Thapa, the PADT member secretary, said that he will always be in the forefront for the benefit of Lord Pashupatinath and PADT.

He said, “It is the tradition of my forefathers not to embezzle the ‘shivaswa’ (revenue belonging to religious trust and temples). I will not misappropriate ‘shivaswa’, but bring it from home and develop it here.” He also said that he had suffered a lot in the past due to some antagonisms that harmed the trust.

Dr Thapa said, “Those who oppose Pashupati and warn against the development of this place have given me pain in the past when their interests were not fulfilled. I say to such opponents that I will not do wrong.”