Lucknow: Pointing fingers at recent 'in person visits' to the Ram Temple in Ayodhya, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Friday said attempts should not be made to influence the direction of the probe into the donation scam being conducted by the three-member Special Investigation Team (SIT), which was already under scrutiny for its controversial members and a marred reputation.
Akhilesh's Statement Following CM's Visit
Akhilesh's statement came hours after Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath reached the Ram Temple in Ayodhya to mark the birthday of Mahant Nritya Gopal Das, the head of the Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust. Addressing a gathering there, the CM attacked the opposition for making unsubstantiated statements regarding alleged irregularities in the collection of donations at the Ram Temple.
The CM's visit came barely two days after Nripendra Mishra, chairman of the Ram Temple construction committee, visited the temple on Wednesday and Thursday and told media that he could vouch for the integrity of temple trust general secretary Champat Rai. Nripendra Mishra is a 1967 batch UP cadre IAS officer who served as principal secretary to Prime Minister Narendra Modi from 2014 to 2019.
Akhilesh's Social Media Response
Responding to these visits, Akhilesh on Friday morning took to X, asking if an SIT should be constituted to probe the 'record breaking' Ayodhya visits. Later, he raised fingers at these 'in person' visits, stating that 'no attempts should be made to influence the probe by the SIT which was already being looked at with suspicion because of its controversial members and blotched image'.
In an apparent reference to the CM's speech during his visit to the Ram Temple earlier in the day, Akhilesh questioned if the trip to Ayodhya was unplanned or scheduled the day the three-member SIT was constituted.
Akhilesh's Written Statement
'Why was today's speech less of a statement but more of a threat? Why are sources saying that the visit was scheduled in haste at the behest of the party functionaries in Ayodhya to save the political ground in temple town and beyond because not only in Ayodhya division, BJP is set to be wiped off from the entire state,' Akhilesh said in a statement issued on Friday evening.
'Why did he (CM) not visit the special people whom he did meet on all his earlier visits,' Akhilesh asked in his written statement.
He said people are not only asking for a threadbare probe but also want details of the gems and jewellery that were donated by devotees and were now missing, along with cash donations and Shilas (consecrated bricks) made of gold and silver.
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