With the Ram Mandir donation-theft controversy dealing the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh a serious blow, and that too in its centenary year, all eyes are now on an important high-level meeting scheduled next week.
From July 10 to July 12, senior RSS pracharaks from across the country will assemble in Karnataka’s Belagavi to participate in the annual Akhil Bharatiya Prant Pracharak Baithak.
They will discuss a range of issues, including the ongoing nationwide Census exercise, and also experiences related to “current situations and important contemporary subjects such as the census,” RSS national media and publicity in-charge Sunil Ambekar said.
“Sarsanghchalak Dr Mohan Bhagwat, Sarkaryavah Dattatreya Hosabale, all Sah Sarkaryavahs including Dr Krishnagopa, C.R. Mukunda, Arun Kumar, Ramdutt, Alok Kumar and Atul Limaye, along with Akhil Bharatiya Karya Vibhag Pramukhs and members of the executive council, will participate in this meeting,” Ambekar said.
Bhagwat will reach Belagavi for the meeting on July 6, he added.
Officially, the three-day exercise will review the work of RSS shakhas and discuss plans to increase the number of shakhas to further expand the Sangh’s reach. However, all eyes are on the message that will emerge from the high-level meeting about the serious financial misappropriations in Ram Mandir
The Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust, constituted by the Centre in February 2020 following a Supreme Court directive, manages the Ram Mandir and its assets. Officially autonomous, the Trust has significant institutional overlap with the RSS and the Vishva Hindu Parishad.
The RSS is the parent organisation of both the VHP and the BJP, its political arm. And at the center of the storm is VHP vice-president Champat Rai, who resigned in the wake of allegations of donation theft at the Ram temple.
A Sangh pracharak for long, Champat Rai has served as the Trust’s general secretary since its inception.
While the RSS has maintained public silence on the alleged donation theft, sources say it is closely monitoring the case.
Those familiar with the developments say the financial irregularities at the revered Ayodhya mandir, which paved the BJP’s political journey, have not only triggered a political controversy but also embarrassed the saffron outfit.RSS chief Bhagwat has deputed senior functionaries to Ayodhya, and they will submit a separate report to him, sources say
Critics point that ultimately the responsibility lies with those overseeing the functioning of the Trust, in other words the BJP and Sangh. “Misappropriation of donations and contributions from devotees has dented the image of moral purity and the Sangh and the BJP both answerable,” they add.