KATHMANDU: Former Prime Minister Dr. Baburam Bhattarai has expressed concerns about the implications when members of the Council of Ministers visit religious sites in a group.

Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda,’ accompanied by several cabinet ministers, visited the Pashupatinath Temple on Saturday.

On Saturday, Prime Minister Dahal was joined by a delegation of ministers, including Finance Minister Prakash Sharan Mahat, Foreign Minister NP Saud, Culture and Tourism Minister Sudan Kirati, and Water Resources and Irrigation Minister Shakti Basnet, during their visit to the Pashupatinath Temple.

Dr. Bhattarai expressed his opinion that a collective visit of this nature could be perceived as politically motivated.

In a Facebook post, Dr. Bhattarai stated, “When an individual visits a religious place alone or with their family, there should be no room for questioning. It is a personal matter of their faith.”

Dr. Bhattarai further added, “However, when the entire cabinet visits a religious place together and does so repeatedly, it takes on a political dimension, and naturally, questions and concerns arise.”

Contrarily, the Prime Minister’s Secretariat stated that the visit was solely intended for observation purposes.

Recently, Tourism Minister Kirati has been actively involved in the cleaning of the Pashupati Area and has expressed his commitment to carrying out the cleaning campaign in the Pashupati Area on an ongoing basis.