New Delhi, 26 June— What began with an allegation by Samajwadi MLA Pawan Pande earlier this month, the case of loot and embezzlement of donations at Ram Mandir in Ayodhya has turned out to be a massive political scandal causing huge embarrassment for the double engine government of the BJP.
More the ruling party tries to suppress the scandal with sham probe; more it is getting out of control. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s silence over the scandal in which RSS leaders and the government appear to be involved is striking indeed.
The opposition is aggressively attacking the RSS-BJP ecosystem underlining the betrayal of the faith.
The opposition called the FIR registered over the alleged embezzlement of donations at the Ram Temple in Ayodhya is a sham as only junior employees are being targeted while bigger people are being protected and demanded an independent investigation by a sitting Supreme Court judge.
While Congress MP KC Venugopal accused the BJP-RSS today of looting donations made to the Ram Temple in Ayodhya and said that only an independent investigation headed by a sitting Supreme Court judge will unearth the magnitude of this temple loot,”, Aam Admi Party supremo Arvind Kejriwal said the FIR is merely an eyewash and a sham”.
Venugopal wrote on X, “The self-proclaimed protectors of Hinduism have been completely exposed with the revelations of the theft of donations at the Ram Temple in Ayodhya.” He alleged that recent reports show donations meant for the temple have been stolen, weakening BJP-RSS claims of protecting Hindu interests.
Criticising the Central government for imposing strict Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) rules on registered trusts the Congress leader said the Modi dispensation allowed unregistered groups such as the RSS to operate without oversight.
“After using Ayodhya for their divisive politics, the BJP-RSS looted from donations of ordinary devotees and make a complete mockery of their sentiments. On the one hand, the BJP wants to controlled registered trusts through draconian FCRA rules, while completely unregistered entities like the RSS are free to loot and plunder the temples of our country,” Venugopal said.
The Congress leader also asserted that the current FIR protects senior trustees, targeting only low-level officials. “The Sangh Parivar’s farce of being true Hindus is even further exposed because the FIR registered currently does not even name the trustees who were entrusted with temple funds. Instead, the UP Police SIT has only identified low-level office bearers without implicating those at the top of this mega racket,” he stated.
Meanwhile in Ayodhya, Kejriwal said that he prayed that whoever is guilty of this ‘maha paap’ [grave sin] should receive the strictest possible punishment from god”. The AAP supremo was talking to media persons at the Hanumangarhi Temple in Ayodhya accompanied by AAP Rajya Sabha MP and Uttar Pradesh in-charge Sanjay Singh.
“The FIR is merely an eyewash and a sham,” Kejriwal alleged. “Eight low-level employees have been arrested in this case. This scam had been going on for such a long time. It is obvious that junior employees alone could not have carried out such activities for so long. The links of this scam go much higher up, but there is an attempt to shield the big people while placing the entire blame on the heads of these small employees.”
Earlier on Friday, Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Trust General Secretary Champat Rai and trustee Anil Mishra resigned, reportedly taking moral responsibility amid the alleged donation theft case, according to sources.
The resignations followed the filing of a First Information Report (FIR) concerning the purported embezzlement of donations to the Ram Temple in Ayodhya.
The case was registered under various sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), including Sections 306, 316(5), 317(4), 317(5), 61 and 3(5), on the instructions of the Uttar Pradesh government.
Named in the FIR are Anukalp Mishra, Lavkush Mishra, Avinash Shukla, Tinnu Yadav, Manish Yadav, and others.
This development followed allegations made by former Samajwadi Party MLA from Ayodhya, Pawan Pandey, who claimed that between Rs 7 crore and Rs 7.5 crore in donations were misappropriated from the Ram Mandir.
In response to these claims, the Uttar Pradesh government established a three-member Special Investigation Team (SIT) on June 14 to investigate the alleged scam, acting on a request from the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust.
Eight persons named in the FIR over the alleged embezzlement of donations received at the Ram Temple in Ayodhya have been arrested, senior officials said on Friday.
The FIR, lodged at the instance of Krishna Mohan, a member of the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust, follows recommendations made in the preliminary report of a Special Investigation Team (SIT) constituted by the Uttar Pradesh government to probe the allegations.
The FIR was lodged two days after the SIT submitted its preliminary report containing several “strong recommendations” to the state government.
The administrative action began immediately after the SIT report, Uttar Pradesh chief minister Adityanath said after the arrests.
“I would appeal again, avoid political statements over the issue, if you don’t have accurate evidence, don’t allege, if you have evidence, give it to SIT,” Adityanath said at a a public meeting in Deoria
Ayodhya is a symbol of the faith of all of us and of Sanatan Dharma. Do not cast an evil eye on Ayodhya. Learn to uphold the dignity of Lord Ram. We had said an SIT had been constituted and that action would begin as soon as its report was received,” Adityanath said.
“The SIT report came and action started immediately. I assure you that, as I had said, we will separate truth from falsehood,” he said.
“Playing with public sentiment is unacceptable. Whoever tampers with the faith of Sanatan Dharma will have to face the consequences. No one can be given any exemption,” he said.
Veteran Journalist and Political Commentator
