Ahmedabad : Narendra Modi-led Gujarat government has come forward with a unique idea of training manual scavengers in Hindu religious rituals, a leading newspaper reported on Saturday.

Manual scavengers, termed as ‘safai kamdars’ in Gujarat, will now be trained in Vedic rituals in institutions like SolaBhagvatVidyapith and Somnath Sanskrit University.

Meanwhile, to kickstart the project, the social justice department has proposed a new provision of Rs 22.50 lakh for the exceptional programme in the budget for 2013-14.

The latest move will help the suppressed backward community to become priests, and perform marriages and ‘puja’ in temples.

The move is expected to bring in huge support for the populist choice – Modi, who himself belongs to the OBC community.