'There are Nepali priests at the Badrinath, Kedarnath and Kashi shrines of India.

'The priests who offer the daily aarti (ritual of lamps) at the Dashashwamedha Ghat in Varanasi are Nepalis.'

While Girish Bhatta has been appointed to perform the traditional worship at the north gate shrine here, Raghavendra Bhatta will be conducting the daily rituals at the temple of Vasuki, described in Hindu epics as the great snake.

Without naming the Maoists, the Nepali minister said some people who did not believe in religion were trying to politicise religion.

'Religion is not based on nationality,' Rijal said. 'Nepal and India share the same culture, religion and traditions. There are Nepali priests in Indian temples, like the Jagannath temple in India's Puri city.

'To make religion a political issue will mean tarnishing Nepal's image in the eyes of the world.'

The Gaushala area in Kathmandu city, where the shrine is located, simmered with tension for the third day Saturday with hundreds of protesters cordoning it off by burning tyres on the road.

'Down with Indian expansionism,' they chanted. 'Indian priests go back. We want the appointment of Nepali priests.'

Police formed a three-tier barrier between the protesters and the shrine and finally, resorted to a baton-charge to scatter the protesters and free the road. For the first time in the history of the temple, its gates were closed to devotees who were not allowed to enter and pray.

'We had to do this for the safety of the priests,' said Sushil Nahata, senior official at the Pashupatinath Area Development Trust that administers the shrine. 'Yesterday, the attackers came in the guise of worshippers; so we did not take any risks today.

'However, we are working to normalise things soon.'