BAPS Praised as DOJ Drops Investigation into Worker Exploitation Claims

New York, Sep 19 (PTI) The BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha in the United States has expressed approval following the Justice Department's decision to terminate its investigation into alleged worker exploitation claims.

In 2021, Indian workers filed a lawsuit in the US District Court of New Jersey against the Bochasanwasi Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha (BAPS), citing human trafficking and wage law violations.

The workers claimed they were confined and forced to work for around USD 1 on the construction of the vast Swaminarayan temple in New Jersey.

BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha in the United States has praised the decision by the United States Department of Justice and the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey to discontinue their investigation into BAPS and the creation of BAPS Swaminarayan Akshardham, according to a statement from BAPS North America.

A report by The New York Times highlighted six men in the complaint, stating they were among over 200 Indian nationals brought to the US on 'R-1 visas' since around 2018 and subjected to laborious hours in often hazardous conditions at the New Jersey site.

However, on Thursday, the organization asserted that the US government's decision to cease this investigation "sends a clear and powerful message in support of what our organization has maintained from the outset”.

“BAPS Swaminarayan Akshardham— a place of peace, service, and devotion— was constructed through the love, dedication, and volunteer service of thousands of devotees from all walks of life,” it stated.

The United States Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey did not respond to email or phone inquiries by PTI regarding this development.

BAPS North America further noted that the Hindu community in the US represents a comparatively newer faith tradition in this country.

"Yet the fact that our community came together to create such a landmark is a testament to the values that make America great. BAPS Swaminarayan Akshardham stands as an enduring symbol of how the community has become an integral part of the fabric of the United States,” it added.

Describing the period following the lawsuit as "challenging for our fellowship”, the organization mentioned that “we emerge with renewed strength and deepened faith— in God and in the enduring spirit of this nation”.

CoHNA (Coalition of Hindus of North America) stated it supports the DOJ's decision to close its investigation of the BAPS temple in Robbinsville, New Jersey, over alleged “caste discrimination” and worker exploitation.

It stated that the investigation triggered a campaign of "calumny targeting not just the one temple in question but the broader Hindu faith, community, and our institutions based on this unproven allegation”.

“Today we stand vindicated— but the damage is done,” CoHNA stated.

CoHNA further emphasized that “we must hold accountable the anti-Hindu ecosystem that took these unproven allegations and an ongoing investigation as ‘proof’— and put the entire community in the dock”.

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