Not involved, says government amid controversy over religious group’s Eiffel Tower tour

The incident involving women staffers at the Eiffel Tower being removed from their work stations during a visit by a Hindu religious group was a “matter purely between the entities concerned”, the Ministry of External Affairs said on Tuesday.

The incident had taken place during a visit by a delegation of about 100 people associated with the Bochasanwasi Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha to the monument on Saturday. The removal of the women staffers had led to a strike by employees at the Paris landmark, due to which the Eiffel Tower was shut on Monday.

On Sunday, the group consecrated its first major temple in France, located in the suburbs of Paris, in a ceremony attended virtually by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.