The All India Monks Association Tuesday accused Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Lalu Prasad of marginalizing the Buddhists and using the Bodh Gaya temple management committee to favour his own caste.
"Lalu has betrayed the trust of the Buddhists by placing RJD loyalists at the helm of the temple management committee," association general secretary Bhadant Anand said.
He said Lalu was instrumental in the removal of Bhadant Prajyasheel, the only Buddhist secretary of the committee, and re-appointment of his "own caste man" Kalicharan Yadav as secretary of the sacred Buddhist shrine.
"He is playing with our emotions and sentiments and testing our patience," Anand told IANS over phone and accused the former Bihar chief minister of going back on his promise of handing over the shrine management to the Buddhists.
"Can you name any sacred shrine of any religion which is controlled by people of another religion," he said.
The monk alleged that Lalu had deliberately wrested control of the shrine and given to the Hindus.
"Lalu may be a champion of minorities and secularism in India and outside but Buddhists were losing faith in him and questioning his secular credentials," Anand said.
He complained that Buddhist monks had little role to play in the temple management and have been demanding an amendment in the Mahabodhi Temple Act, 1949.
Unesco declared the 1,500-year-old Mahabodhi Temple as a World Heritage Site in June 2002. It is believed that the Buddha attained enlightenment 2,500 years ago under a banyan tree there.