Kathmandu: Fissures seemed to be appearing in Nepal's ruling coalition on Sunday with a key ally flaying Maoists for trying to "capture" the Pashupatinath temple, but the premier sought to calm tempers saying appointment of Nepalese priests in place of Indians was being "pointlessly politicised".

Prime minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal Prachanda said he did not intend to displace the South Indian Bhatta brahmins, who had overseen rituals at the temple for the past 300 years.

The appointment of Nepalese priests in place of Indians was a "mere coincidence" and not intended to oust the former, he said here.

The former guerrilla leaders comments came a day after Nepal's dethroned King Gyanendra, who was once seen as the incarnation of Lord Vishnu, appealed to the people not to "politicise" the dispute at the temple, which was stormed by Maoist cadres to install local priests defying a court order.

However, another Maoist minister seemed to be taking a tougher stand when he said the government would allow Nepalese priests to conduct worship despite a stay by Supreme Court.

Gopal Kirati, minister for Culture and State Restructuring, said he would not re-instate the sacked Indian priests and file a petition against the interim order.

He also said he would launch a three-month long awareness campaign here to press for reforms in the temple management and hold rallies in support for the move, which had sparked protests in the country as well as in India.

Upendra Yadav, the foreign minister and leader of a party representing Indian-origin Madhesi people, on Sunday launched a scathing attack on the Maoists, saying they were trying to "capture" Nepals holiest Hindu shrine.

Another Indian priest, Ganesh Bhat, quit on Sunday as Maoists forcibly escorted two more Nepalese Brahmins into the temple to assist the new priests.

The local Bhandaris, entrusted with arranging materials for prayers and protecting valuable assets of the temple for centuries, said they will launch a struggle to "save the temple from the Maoist intrusion".

The Bhandaris have formed a 32-member struggle committee and set two pre-conditions for dialogue - resumption of worship by the Indian priests and guarantee of assets of the temples main store house, where locks were broken.

With the row hotting up, triggering reactions from saffron parties like the BJP in India too, Prachanda said he approved the appointments since the mul bhatta (head priest) Mahabaleshwor, who had quit three and a half months earlier, refused to withdraw his resignation.

The member secretary of the Pashupati Area Development Trust had been asked to recommend names for the vacant posts and the appointments were done accordingly, he said claiming that no procedures were violated, Nepalese media reported.

Upendra Yadav, the leader of key coalition partner Madhesi Peoples Right Forum, said the storming of the shrine by Maoist cadres was an affront to "Hindu sentiments".

"This is an anti-religious mob and they are trying to capture the Pashupatinath temple to disturb the religious activities there", he told an Indian TV channel.

The Maoists maintain that the two Indian priests who had quit earlier refused to withdraw their resignation even after being approached by PADT officials. But Narottam Vaidya, an former member of the PADT, said they were never asked to reconsider their decision.

Hindu groups here claim that the priests resigned under the pressure of the Maoist cadres.

Meanwhile, the daily pooja, which was halted for the past three days at the shrine, has resumed from today. All four gates of Pashupatinath were opened on Sunday.
Source : Central