The Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust will on Monday hold a crucial meeting at the Ram Temple complex in Ayodhya as the alleged embezzlement of temple donations continues to trigger political and legal scrutiny. The meeting comes amid the ongoing Special Investigation Team (SIT) probe and after General Secretary Champat Rai submitted his resignation, which is yet to be accepted by the Trust.
The controversy has rapidly escalated beyond the investigation, sparking a political confrontation between the BJP and Opposition parties. While Opposition leaders have demanded an independent probe and questioned the Trust’s functioning, the BJP and the RSS have accused their rivals of exploiting the issue to target the faith of millions of Hindus.
Temple administration assistant Gopal Rao said the meeting would begin at 3 pm inside the temple complex and would be chaired by Trust president Mahant Nritya Gopal Das.
“The trust meeting will take place at 3 PM within the temple complex. Everyone has been notified; we expect everyone to attend,” Rao said after arriving at Shri Vaidehi Bhavan Pushp Vatika.
SIT expands probe into alleged Ram Temple donation embezzlement
The investigation into the alleged misuse of temple donations has also gathered pace.
Police sources said the Ayodhya Police have obtained court permission to question five of the eight arrested accused inside jail. The accused are Ram Shankar Yadav, Anukalp Mishra, Karunesh Pandey, Lavkush Mishra, and Manish Yadav. Their statements will be formally recorded during the questioning.
The SIT has also been granted a 15-day extension to widen its investigation and examine every aspect of the case. Earlier, the Uttar Pradesh Police questioned accused Avinash Shukla at the Special Operations Group office in Ayodhya.
An FIR in the case was registered on June 25 after the SIT submitted its preliminary findings. Eight people have since been arrested. Following the developments, Champat Rai and former trustee Anil Mishra resigned, taking moral responsibility for the alleged financial irregularities.
Meanwhile, the Ayodhya Sant Mandal has appealed to the Trust not to accept Champat Rai’s resignation and extended its support to him.
RSS calls for strict action, asks devotees to remain patient
The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) has backed a strict legal response if wrongdoing is established while urging devotees not to lose faith in the temple’s administration.
RSS General Secretary Dattatreya Hosabale said the Uttar Pradesh government had constituted the SIT at the request of the Trust and legal action had begun on the basis of its recommendations.
“It is essential to ensure that whoever is found guilty in the investigation receives strict punishment,” Hosabale said.
He also urged the Trust to treat the episode as an extraordinary matter and strengthen its financial management and administrative systems to preserve the faith of devotees.
“The entire Hindu society, including the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, naturally expects the Trust to treat this highly condemnable incident as an extraordinary matter and take effective, serious steps to rectify all shortcomings in management and operations; this is essential to ensure that the faith and reverence of millions of Ram devotees in the Ayodhya temple remain unbroken and steadfast,” he said.
The RSS also appealed to devotees to remain patient while the investigation is underway and alleged that “anti-Hindu” and “anti-national” forces were attempting to exploit the controversy.
Political war over Ram Temple donation controversy intensifies
Samajwadi Party MP Awadhesh Prasad reiterated his party’s demand for dissolving the Trust and sought an independent investigation into the alleged irregularities.
“Our leader Akhilesh Yadav and we have demanded not once but multiple times that the trust should be dissolved… An investigation should have been conducted by keeping all the people of the trust out,” he said.
In Mumbai, Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray led the party’s “Ram Raksha” protest at the Dadar Hanuman Temple.
“Thieves have no right to take Rama’s name… We will not rest until the theft is solved,” Thackeray told supporters.
Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Arvind Sawant questioned what happened to donations made by his party, including a silver brick offered to the temple, while party leader Vinayak Raut described the protest as the beginning of a wider campaign to protect Lord Ram and Hindutva.
Addressing BJP workers in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath accused the Samajwadi Party and the Congress of shifting towards attacks on matters of faith after failing in what he described as caste and class-based politics.
“Seeing their divisive efforts fail, they are now resorting to attacking India’s faith. That is why I call upon all of you: this is the time for us to be vigilant,” he said.
BJP National President Nitin Nabin also accused Opposition parties of attempting to gain political mileage from the controversy.
“Even if we have to shed our own blood, we will ensure that no one plays with the faith associated with Lord Ram’s temple,” Nabin said, while accusing Rahul Gandhi, Akhilesh Yadav and Arvind Kejriwal of misleading the public over the issue.
Karnataka Minister Priyank Kharge criticised the RSS over the controversy and questioned why it had raised concerns only after the allegations surfaced.
“Who are they to seek punishment? Why did they wait for so long? Their own people did this. I am sure some funds must have gone to them also,” Kharge said.