Lucknow: The political storm over alleged irregularities in donations collected at the Ram Temple in Ayodhya refuses to subside, with Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Monday stating that the clarifications issued by the temple trust were insufficient. He reiterated claims that four suspects have been detained for allegedly diverting crores of rupees donated by pilgrims visiting the temple.
Akhilesh Questions Trust's Statement
Akhilesh said that the clarification offered by Champat Rai, general secretary of the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust, was not clear enough. On Sunday, Rai had issued a statement saying that the trust undergoes internal audits conducted jointly by trust representatives and State Bank of India staff. The audit process, which lasts several days, is currently underway, and nothing noteworthy has come to light yet.
Questioning the language used in the statement, Akhilesh remarked, "The clarification was not clear enough. It seems that this is something very routine which happens every week. It is so routine that they don't think it is noteworthy." He added that the temple trust must take up the issue in the presence of all trustees. "The moment all the trustees sit together, the truth will come out," he said.
Sensitive Issue Affecting Devotees
The former Uttar Pradesh chief minister emphasized that the issue is sensitive and impacts the sentiments of millions of Ram devotees worldwide. "The silence maintained by the state government on the issue is as suspect as the clarification of the temple trust," he asserted.
Former Samajwadi Party MLA and ex-minister Pawan Pandey, who hails from Ayodhya, cited reports alleging that an amount ranging between Rs 5 crore and Rs 7.5 crore is missing from donations collected through temple donation boxes. He demanded a thorough investigation and stringent action against those found involved.
Ayodhya police, however, denied having any information about irregularities related to donations. "We have not received any complaint in this regard," said a senior police officer.
Temple authorities earlier claimed that nearly four dozen donation boxes are placed within the Ram Temple complex. Donations made by devotees are collected and recorded through an authorized counting mechanism.
SP Demands BJP Explanation
Taking strong exception to Deputy Chief Minister Brijesh Pathak attacking Akhilesh Yadav for raising the donation irregularity issue, the Samajwadi Party asked the BJP to come clean on the charges. "Allegations of criminal breach, negligence, and corruption are leveled against you all (BJP government), and shameless people are giving lessons of Sanatan Dharma. Have the party hoppers been assigned the task to offer all the fallacious arguments?" said SP functionary and former MLC Udaiveer Singh on X in Hindi, quoting a video of Pathak questioning the SP chief on the donation row.
