High priest and politics

Vada Dastur Khurshed Dastoor of Udvada asked community members in Bombay to vote for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). It is true that when Prime Minister Narendra Modi was chief minister of Gujarat he had reached out to the community, praised and expressed his fondness for the Parsis. Whether one likes Modi or not, most people are proud to have him as Prime Minister. So what is the harm if a high priest speaks up for a particular political party? He did not put a gun to anyone’s head to vote for the BJP in Maharashtra.
If the Bombay Parsi Punchayet (BPP) can constantly issue diktats and fanatical fatwas in the name of religion, though it is merely the caretaker of trust funds and property, why should it not be permissible for a high priest to express non-religious thoughts? Our priests are free to share their political leanings as we belong to a progressive and hopefully still democratic group.
At the drop of a hat the BPP meddles in issues that are strictly personal. Are they to command and we to meekly submit? Who knows whether this matter too may reach the courts as frivolous litigation has already resulted in the loss of crores from trust funds. Whose money are the trustees spending? It is certainly not coming from their own pockets! RODA HAKIM
Baroda
vadhakim@yahoo.com