Patna, August 1, 2013: The Bihar government has amended the Bodh Gaya Temple Act of 1949, allowing for a non-Hindu to head the temple committee.

As per Section 3 (3) of the Act, the district magistrate (DM) is the ex-officio chairman of the temple committee and has to be a Hindu. If the DM is a non-Hindu, the Act requires the government “to nominate a Hindu as Chairman of the committee for the period during which the DM is a non-Hindu.”

However, on Tuesday, the State Assembly passed the Bodh Gaya Temple (Amendment) Bill 2013. “A secular State is the hallmark of the Indian Constitution and the said section goes against the spirit of the Constitution,” the proposal to amend the act, said.

Championing the Bill in the Assembly, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar said, “the DM is a representative of the government’s secular credentials.”

The BJP vehemently opposed the Bill as an unnecessary move.

The change invoked mixed responses from the Bodh Gaya Temple Management Committee (BTMC). “We welcome it since ours is a secular State. A mistake has been corrected,” an authoritative source told The Hindu.

Upset with the amendment, Bhante Pragyadeep of the All India Bhiku Sangha termed the move as “vote bank politics.”