Despite Centre's SOP prohibiting the distribution of 'prasad', the Punjab government, led by chief minister Amarinder Singh Tuesday allowed the distribution of 'prasad' and 'langar' at religious places
On June 10, the Punjab government allowed the distribution of prasad at religious places of worship. The government also said that all community kitchens and langars will also be reopened.
This comes even though the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) in its SOP had mentioned that religious places in containment zones must remain shut and there will be no physical offerings like Prasad, distribution of holy water.
MoHFW also put a bar on the number of people to five who will be allowed inside at a time. The guidelines also specifically mention that only asymptomatic people will be allowed inside these religious places.
Captain Amarinder opposes Centre's decision:
Punjab chief minister Captain Amarinder said his government had never believed in interfering with the customs and practices of any religion. His comment came after the Golden Temple restarted its 'langar' and distributed 'prasad' among devotees as it reopened on Monday, defying the Punjab government's lockdown guidelines.
“How could the state government be held responsible for prohibiting ‘prasad’ distribution at gurdwaras or other places of worship when the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare had issued the standard operating procedure (SOPs) to be followed by religious places under the directives of the Union Ministry of Home Affairs,” asked the CM.
This has prompted the question among people, of course, on who then should take responsibility when the guidelines issued are not followed, given that states have bestowed with the authority to take calls within the purview of the guidelines issued by the Centre.
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