Ram Temple donation theft: SIT questions trustee Dr Anil Mishra
Gopal Rao, another powerful trustee whose name has also emerged amid the theft allegations, was reportedly made to wait outside the room while the SIT questioned Mishra.
CPI Rajya Sabha MP P Sandosh Kumar on Thursday wrote a strongly worded letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, demanding a CAG audit of all donations received by the Ram Temple trust and an independent judicial inquiry into the allegations of donation theft.
In the letter addressed to PM Modi, the CPI MP accused the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) of treating Lord Rama as a “political asset”.
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He alleged that the Ram Temple became less of a sacred space than an instrument for mobilising votes, consolidating power and expanding the influence of the Sangh Parivar.
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“From allegations of irregularities and commissions in the temple’s construction to the inauguration of a temple that was still under construction for electoral gain, those who claimed to be Lord Rama’s greatest devotees repeatedly treated Him as a political asset rather than an article of faith,” Kumar said.
According to the CPI MP, the donation scandal involving the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust has “stripped away every remaining pretence.”
Citing media reports, the Left leader noted that following the allegations of irregularities, a Special Investigation Team was constituted and an FIR was registered against eight people.
He also claimed that devotees have come forward claiming that gold jewellery, silver bricks and other valuables they had offered at the temple remain unaccounted for, while the findings of the official inquiry have still not been made public.
Kumar said that the donation theft allegations are not just financial wrongdoing but a betrayal of millions of Lord Rama’s devotees.
“If these revelations have shaken the conscience of the country, it is because this is not merely an allegation of financial wrongdoing. It is the betrayal of millions of devotees whose offerings were made in faith,” Kumar wrote.
Continuing his attack on the RSS, he alleged that the Sangh Parivar used Lord Rama to “accumulate political power” and that his temple has been reduced to a means of “amassing money, influence and power.”
“The Sangh Parivar invoked Lord Rama to accumulate political power; now it stands accused of making his temple tainted by greed. It increasingly appears that for the RSS, the VHP and the BJP, Lord Rama has become not an article of faith but a means of amassing money, influence and power,” he said.
He further urged the Prime Minister to order a comprehensive audit by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of every donation received by the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust, including cash, gold, silver and other valuables, from its inception, and place the report before the nation.
He also demanded an independent judicial inquiry into all alleged criminal activities connected with the temple, its construction and the management of devotees’ offerings, ensuring that every individual, irrespective of position or affiliation with the RSS, the VHP, the BJP or any other organisation, is brought to justice if found guilty.
“Millions of devotees entrusted their prayers, hopes and life’s savings to Lord Rama—not to the Sangh Parivar. Ram ke naam par, come clean. Spare the Temple. Spare Lord Rama. Spare the faith of millions from the greed of the Sangh Parivar,” he added.
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