The protest at the Mahabodhi Mahavihara in Gaya against the management and control of the shrine by a committee packed with Hindus has reached Parliament and spread to different parts of the globe.
Congress Rajya Sabha member Mukul Wasnik on Tuesday said the shrine's management structure was not like other religious institutions.
During Zero Hour, Wasnik said five of the nine members of the management committee were Hindus. Buddhist monks have been protesting at the shrine for the past 49 days demanding a repeal of the Bodhgaya Temple Act of 1949, which allows the majority of the temple's management members to be non-Buddhists. Wasnik supported their demand.
According to the Act, the Bihar government constitutes a committee for the management and control of the shrine land and properties. The panel comprises a chairman and eight members nominated by the state.
Four members shall be Buddhists and four Hindus. The district magistrate of Gaya shall be the ex-officio chairman of the committee, "provided that the state government shall nominate a Hindu as chairman of the committee for the period during which the district magistrate of Gaya is a non-Hindu".
Wasnik said that the Bodhgaya Mukti Andolan had been going on for long. "India is a secular country. The Constitution gives religious freedom to everyone. Temples, mosques, churches and gurdwaras are managed by the people who are followers of the respective faith. Then why is this exception for the Mahabodhi shrine?" Wasnik asked.
"I appeal to the central government to repeal this law. There is a need for a new law on this," Wasnik said.
The issue has united Buddhists from across the country and other nations. A Buddhist from Nagpur said the All India Buddhist Forum would hold a march from Deekshabhoomi to Samvidhan Chowk in Nagpur. "We visited Bodhgaya recently to extend our support for the movement. We are holding protests in Nagpur to show our solidarity," she said.
Last month, Buddhist communities in Michigan, US, protested supporting the movement. Mahesh Wasnik, a resident of Michigan who has come to Gaya to join the protests, alleged that the current administration has distorted Buddhist history and diminished the temple's sacred identity. He said the government had exploited the temple for revenue while ignoring Buddhist demands.
He added that Buddhist communities from across the world, including the US, Canada, Bangladesh, Thailand, Laos, Sri Lanka and Taiwan, have supported the protests. An online petition — "In solidarity: Demand Buddhist control over Mahabodhi temple" — has been signed by about 30,000 people.