Akhilesh continues with allegation of theft of offerings despite denial from Ram Temple Trust

Politics over claims of theft of crores of rupees from the offerings made to the Ayodhya Ram Temple continued for the second day with Opposition and ruling party leaders targeting each other over the religious matter.

Samajwadi Party National President Akhilesh Yadav, who raised the issue on Sunday along with his party’s Ayodhya leader Pawan Pandey , contue their allegations on Monday too.

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Akhilesh Yadav on Monday wrote on his social media post,” explanation itself is not clear”.

He said, “It seems like a normal thing for them every week, so normal that they don’t even consider it ‘remarkable’ anymore. The facial expressions and body language are full of frustration and despair.

All trust members should be brought together to provide explanations, and CCTV evidence should be used to verify the data. Once all trustees are together, the truth will emerge because not everyone is the same. When there’s no single individual at the center of this alleged fraud, what significance does one individual’s explanation hold?.”

The SP president further wrote, “It should also be clarified why it took so many hours to come up with a 40-second explanation, and why even speaking for one minute in the name of clarification is proving costly. Like the state government’s silence, this clarification is also suspicious. It seems as if the explanation is merely a verbal formality”.

Akhilesh Yadav claimed that the Sanatan society of the entire world has become even more suspicious and hurt by this very weak explanation.

Last night , Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust general secretary Champat Rai clarified the former minister Pawan Pandey and Akhilesh Yadav allegations. He said that the trust undergoes periodic internal audits. Representatives from the trust and SBI Bank are involved in this exercise. The audits last several days. The same process is currently underway and no irregularities have been found so far.

UP BJP President Pankaj Chaudhary, hitting back at SP chief Akhilesh Yadav, said, “Who is saying this? Something has gone missing. Akhilesh Yadav keeps saying things, but we won’t keep responding to him. This is not a government issue. The temple administration will respond.”

Yesterday, Pawan Pandey, a former minister in the Samajwadi Party government, claimed in Ayodhya that between ₹5 crore and ₹7.5 crore had been stolen from the Ram Temple offerings. SP chief Akhilesh Yadav also said the government’s silence on the matter was suspicious. The court should take cognizance of the matter.

On the other hand, Shankaracharya Avimukteshwarananda, has fully supported Akhilesh Yadav in Agra and said, “When you make a thief your protector, what will he do? Earlier, it was done in the name of land. Now it’s being taken directly from the bank.”

Trust member Mahant Dinendra Das Maharaj said, “All decisions of the trust are made collectively. All transactions are recorded. Everything is being conducted in a fair and transparent manner. Lord Ram oversees everything. The trust would never make such a mistake.”

Shankaracharya Avimukteshwarananda said, “Managing the temple is the responsibility of an organization. This was the responsibility of the religious leaders. You removed the religious leaders and brought in a trust of your own workers. That’s why this is happening now.”

Arya Saint Varun Das Maharaj said, “Ram devotees have made sacrifices for the Ram Janmabhoomi. Akhilesh Yadav has harassed and tortured Ram devotees. Therefore, he has no right to speak on matters related to the Ram Temple.”

Hanumangarhi’s Mahant Ramdas said, “The SP chief’s statement is political. No member of the trust has raised any questions. However, in light of the theft charges, Trust General Secretary Champat Rai should call a meeting of the trust and clarify the situation.”