KURUKSHETRA: The Haryana government will spend around Rs 100 crore to celebrate the teachings of Bhagavad Gita at Kurukshetra, where Lord Krishna is believed to have delivered the sermons that form the crux of the Hindu religious treatise.
President Pranab Mukherjee will inaugurate the Gita Jayanti celebrations on December 1.
Sources said the expenditure for past celebrations was a few crore rupees, reports Hindutan Times.
Officials, however, said the proposed expenditure includes renovation of temples and places of religious importance and building a makeshift centre for housing thousands of devotees expected to visit the city during the celebrations that will run through December 11.
The BJP-led government of Manohar Lal Khattar had faced criticism in the past for allegedly trying to impose Hindutva ideology in the state.
Kurukshetra deputy commissioner Sumedha Kataria said there was no “dearth of funds” for this event.
“Efforts are being made to take Gita Jayanti to the international level and it will help to promote Kurukshetra, the birthplace of Gita, as an international tourist destination,” Kataria added.
Political experts, however, said the move will not provide any political benefit to the ruling party.
“There might be a perception of political gains but I don’t think it will give political benefit to the ruling party as most of the people see such events for promotion of tourism,” said RS Yadav, former dean of social sciences at Kurukshetra University.
