Priests of Mathura have opposed the Yogi Adityanath government’s decision to set up a trust for the management of Banke Bihari Mandir in Vrindavan, terming it “anti-Brahmin”.

Tarachand Goswami, former chairman of the temple, said their ancestors had undergone penance for Krishna to appear at the shrine, but the government was trying to play with their religiosity.

“It was because of the penance of our ancestors that God had appeared here. The temple became revered under their supervision, but the government is now taking it over on the pretext of regulating its management,” he said at a meeting of the priests in Nandgaon on Wednesday.

Vishnu Gowami, a priest, alleged that the government was deliberately trying to snatch the livelihood of the Brahmins, whose only job was to serve God.

“The Uttar Pradesh government is anti-Sanatani, anti-Brahmin and wants to take control of all the religious places,” Mukesh Goswami, another priest, said. He accused the government of ignoring important tasks like cleaning the Yamuna and protecting cows.

The state government had last week cleared an ordinance to set up the Shri Banke Bihariji Mandir Nyas Trust to oversee the management of the shrine and its daily rituals.

Traditionally, priests have been managing the temple that is believed to have been built by Swami Haridas, a sadhu, in the 16th century.

According to some Goswamis (serving priests), the Krishna idol was installed in the temple by their ancestors in 1864. They said they would take the idol with them if the government didn’t review the decision to take over the temple’s management.

Swami Avimukteshwaranand, the Shankaracharya of Jyotirmath in Uttarakhand, said: “The priests and the people must oppose the government’s decision to take over the temple with the help of a trust. It is unfortunate that many members of the temple are still silent on this issue, but I support those who oppose the formation of the trust.”

He said the temple might be facing some problems, but the government should help the priests resolve them instead of "encroaching" upon it.

“A government that confiscates temples cannot be secular. The government is constantly trying to regulate religion with an ulterior motive. The government appears against the Goswami tradition and wants to have its official priests,” he told reporters in Mathura, where he has been staying for the last few days.

“Temples are under attack in most parts of the world. The governments in India shouldn’t do this,” Avimukteshwaranand added.

The state government plans to construct a Banke Bihari Corridor around the temple at a cost of ₹500 crore along the lines of the Kashi Vishwanath Corridor in Varanasi. The project will include the widening of roads around the shrine, beautification of the surrounding area and the construction of administrative offices. The government has argued that the project could only be initiated through a trust.