"Concocted Story": Temple Priest On Priyanka Gandhi's 'PM Envelope' Claim

The priest of Bhilwara's Devnarayan temple on Friday accused Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra of concocting a story about an envelope of donation dropped by Prime Minister Narendra Modi containing only Rs 21 and denied giving any statement about it.

The Election Commission on Thursday issued a show-cause notice to the Congress general secretary over her "envelope" remarks related to the Prime Minister's temple visit. The action came a day after the BJP filed a complaint against her.

Priyanka Gandhi, the BJP noted in its submission, told a public meeting in Dausa on October 20 that she saw on TV that when an envelope of donation made by PM Modi at a temple was opened, it carried only Rs 21. She added that she had seen the news and was not aware whether the claim was true or not, the BJP's complaint read.

The priest, Hemraj Poswal, issued a statement on Friday saying he never gave any statement about any envelope dropped by Prime Minister Modi.

Mr Poswal alleged that some local leaders "planted" the news in the local media in order to tarnish the image of 'Sanatana Dharma', the temple and Prime Minister Modi.

"Recently, in rallies in Dausa and Jhunjhunu, Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi presented a concocted story and mentioned an envelope, hurting the religious sentiments of the followers of 'Sanatana Dharma' and those of Lord Devnarayan," he said.

The priest said there were thousands of Devnarayan temples in the country and asked whether Priyanka Gandhi or any member of the Gandhi family ever visited one. He also asked how much the Gandhi family has donated during visits to temples.

Praising former Rajasthan chief minister Vasundhara Raje, he said that during her tenure, a panorama of Lord Devnarayan was made by spending Rs 4.25 crore.

Religious sentiments should not be hurt for political gain, he added.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)