Laxmi Kanta Chawla, president of the Durgiana Temple Management Committee and former Cabinet minister, on Tuesday demanded an immediate end to the practice of offering liquor at temples.
She said the practice of offering alcohol at temples in Punjab and other places, particularly at Mahakali and Bhairava temples, should be stopped immediately. Referring to the status of women in Indian culture, Chawla said women are revered as forms of Goddess Durga, who symbolises the destruction of evil. She added that women in India are now also taking up responsibilities to protect the nation.
Questioning those who permit alcohol offerings at temples, she asked whether they distribute the leftover liquor as prasad among their mothers, daughters, children and relatives at home. “Temple prasad is meant to be shared among devotees,” she said.
Chawla also raised concerns over the continued practice of animal sacrifice in some temples.
