Dehradun/Mussoorie, Jan. 26 -- The Shri Badrinath Kedarnath Temple Committee (BKTC )on Sunday announced that the entry of non-Hindus will be prohibited inside 45 temples under its jurisdiction. The announcement was made by temple committee chairman and senior BJP leader Hemant Dwivedi, who said that "preserving religious and cultural traditions of Devbhoomi Uttarakhand was of paramount importance." Dwivedi said a resolution to this effect will be passed in upcoming board meeting of BKTC. According to the official, the entry of non-Hindus had traditionally been restricted inside these temples. He, however, claimed that these "long-standing traditions were violated during the tenure of non-BJP governments". "To ensure the sanctity of these shrines and proper observance of age-old traditions, concrete steps will now be taken by temple committee," he said. The BKTC chairman also lauded the state government's drive to remove illegally built shrines across Uttarakhand. The opposition criticised the move , terming it as "diversionary tactics of the BJP government". htc...