On Monday, several media reports claimed that Varanasi’s Kashi Vishwanath Temple would be charging special fees for the ‘sparsh darshan’ of Lord Vishwanath in Uttar Pradesh. The reports which went viral further claimed that the devotees will have to pay Rs 500 or Rs 1000 fee for special ‘sparsh darshan’ of Lord Vishwanath.
Zee Uttar Pradesh-Uttarakhand said in its report, “Heavy amount will have to be paid for sparsh darshan in Kashi Vishwanath temple.”
Similarly, Dainik Jagran’s report claimed, “There will be a fee for Lord Shiva’s Sparsh darshan in Kashi Vishwanath Temple, Trust Council gives the green signal.”
‘Bharat Samachar’ on its Twitter account stated that the temple is charging Rs 500- Rs 1000 for special darshan. It also said that the devotees would get entry into the sanctum sanctorum only after paying the fee.
‘UP Tak’ has also said on Twitter, “You may soon have to pay a fee for having a sparsh darshan of Kashi Vishwanath Baba. The temple administration may charge Rs 500- Rs 1000 from the devotees. This proposal has also been approved by the Kashi Vishwanath Temple Trust Council.”
Uttar Pradesh Legislative Council member and Samajwadi Party leader Ashutosh Sinha also tweeted about the event. He alleged, “The BJP government first distanced the general public from the Aarti by imposing ‘Aarti fee’ in the Kashi Vishwanath temple. Now, by imposing a ‘Sparsh fee’, it is keeping the poor and the underprivileged away from darshan. We will continue to expose this BJP conspiracy.”
However, all such claims and rumors are fake and baseless.
The temple trust has not taken any such decision and as stated by Varanasi Commissioner Kaushal Raj Sharma, the devotees are not expected to pay any such amount for special darshan.
While fact-checking this viral claim, OpIndia found a statement by Varanasi Commissioner Kaushal Raj Sharma who termed the claims as fake. “There was a meeting of the trust. Similar claims continued to appear for a couple of days. It was clarified in the meeting also that no such decision has been taken. The messages being circulated on social media are all old claims,” he said.
श्री काशी विश्वनाथ के स्पर्श दर्शन को नहीं लगेगा कोई शुल्क- कमिश्ननर
— Varanasi Today (@varanasi2day) March 13, 2023
पूरी खबर पढ़ने के लिए नीचे दिए गए लिंक पर क्लिक करें👇👇https://t.co/rh9Gdiw38b@narendramodi @myogiadityanath @CVaranas pic.twitter.com/UVBHViS3XK
He also added, “Different temples in India have different systems. A comparative study was done. It was discussed in meetings that this type of fee is charged in other temples. But, it has not yet been decided to impose any fee in the temple of Varanasi and if such a decision is taken in the future, the devotees will be informed. At present, no fee is being charged for Sparsh Darshan in the temple.”
