New Delhi: The Congress on Tuesday attacked the BJP over alleged misappropriation of donation funds at the Ram temple in Ayodhya and sought a time-bound investigation by a sitting high court judge as well as strict action against the guilty.
The opposition party also alleged that the responsibility for this “organised loot” lies solely with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Addressing a press conference here along with Congress Legislature Party (CLP) leader in Uttar Pradesh Aradhana Misra, UP Congress chief Ajay Rai alleged that the BJP-RSS has deceived faith which is being sold and deals are being struck in the name of religion.
“The information emerging regarding the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Trust shows that an organised loot has taken place, in which big names are involved, and this is being stated by a former BJP MP himself,” Rai said.
“Prime Minister Narendra Modi is responsible for this… People with RSS backgrounds were given positions in the Trust. Now, the government has constituted an SIT, thereby admitting that there has been gross misconduct in a very blatant manner,” he claimed.
First, the BJP-RSS people collected huge amounts of money in the name of the foundation stone laying ceremony at Shri Ram Janmabhoomi, for which there is no accounting, he said and alleged that this is a theft of more than Rs 1,400 crore.
“Our demand is that the SIT report related to this serious issue should come within one week. But unfortunately, the responsibility of the investigation has been given to that officer, against whom an investigation is currently underway regarding the stampede that occurred during the Mahakumbh,” he said.
Rai claimed that it is clear that the BJP is just going through formalities.
He demanded that a time-bound investigation should be conducted by a sitting judge of the high court, and strict action should be taken against the guilty.
In her remarks, CLP leader Misra attacked the BJP, saying they are not ‘pujari’ of Lord Ram, but do ‘vyapar (business)’ in his name.
The UP government on Saturday constituted a three-member Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe allegations regarding donations and financial management of the Ram temple trust in Ayodhya.
According to the officials, the SIT was constituted on the direction of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath following a request from the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust, which called it necessary to “check misinformation and bring out the truth” and alleged that attempts were being made to tarnish the image of the Ram temple.
The SIT comprises Vijay Vishwas Pant, IAS, Divisional Commissioner, Lucknow; Kiran S, IPS, Inspector General of Police; and Neel Ratan, Special Secretary, Finance Department.
According to the state government, the temple trust sought an impartial probe into allegations relating to donation boxes at the Ayodhya temple complex.
Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav on Tuesday also called for a deep probe to find out which “anti-Sanatan” gang was involved in the alleged financial irregularities at the Ram Temple in Ayodhya.
“Wait and see what happens next… the matter escalated from offerings to donations, from donations to land, and from land to the disappearance of the highly valuable Shri Ram stones worth billions of rupees,” Yadav posted on X.
“The KYC of the BJP’s unregistered-underground associates and companions should be conducted. A deep investigation should be carried out into which anti-Sanatan gang is operating behind this ‘maha paap, maha ghotala’ (great sin-great scam) in Ayodhya,” he added.
