‘Extremely pained’ by Ram temple donations theft, guilty must be punished: RSS
NEW DELHI, July 3: The Congress on Friday demanded the dissolution of the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust over the donation “theft” at the Ram temple, a Supreme Court-monitored probe, and that Prime Minister Narendra Modi break his “silence” on the issue.
The opposition party also demanded a public accounting of the nearly Rs 1,400 crore collected in donations for the construction of the temple before the formation of the trust.
Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh said, “Mr. Prime Minister, when there has been a betrayal of Lord Ram and public’s trust has been breached, what hesitation or arrogance is there in accepting it?”
“There is massive anger and outrage across the country against the theft of the donations that took place under the leadership of people from the RSS ecosystem chosen by your government,” Ramesh said in a post on X.
“What you have done was a grave sin indeed, but your silence on this extremely important matter now is a bigger sin,” he said.
Congress leader Ragini Nayak questioned why the Special Investigation Team (SIT) report was not being made public.
“Who exactly are they trying to protect in the end? Narendra Modi took full credit for the Ram temple, but today he remains silent on the theft of offerings… when he took the credit, he must also take responsibility. This is a betrayal of the people’s trust,” Nayak said at a press conference here.
Reiterating the party’s demands, Nayak said the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust should be dissolved immediately, its operations and financial transactions investigated under the supervision of the Supreme Court, and Modi should “break his silence” on the alleged theft of donations.
“A public accounting of the approximately Rs 1,400 crore in donations collected in the name of Ram temple construction before the formation of the trust should be disclosed,” the Congress spokesperson said.
Nayak alleged that in major cases, small people get arrested, while the “big fish” are let off the hook. Nayak claimed that 70 thefts occurred in 40 days at the Ram temple. There is no backup of CCTV footage, no information is available on how many thefts occurred in the last five years, and no FIR has been filed against Champat Rai, who has resigned as the trust general secretary.
“Could this be possible without the government’s protection?” she asked.
RSS SAYS GUILTY MUST BE PUNISHED
RSS general secretary Dattatreya Hosabale on Friday said the alleged embezzlement of Ram temple donations has “deeply hurt” the faith of Ram devotees and all of society, and the SIT must ensure the guilty face severe punishment.
“We are all extremely pained and angered by this event,” the RSS second-in-command said in a statement on X. It is the organisation’s first response to the alleged theft of funds that has led to the arrest of eight people as well as the resignations of Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust general secretary Champat Rai and trustee Anil Mishra.
Asserting that “anti-Hindu and anti-national forces” are seeking to malign Hindu dharma by exploiting the “unfortunate incident”, Hosabale called on all Hindus to display necessary patience and restraint to thwart such “conspiracies”.
“The unfortunate incident of theft in the donation boxes kept at the Shri Ram Lalla temple in Ayodhya has deeply hurt the sentiments and faith of the entire society and Ram devotees,” he said.
It is natural for all of Hindu society, including the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, to expect the Trust to treat this “highly condemnable” incident as an extraordinary matter and take effective steps to rectify all shortcomings in temple management and operations, he added.This, Hosabale stressed, is crucial to ensure that the faith and reverence of crores of Ram devotees in the Ayodhya temple remain unbroken and steadfast.
He noted that the Uttar Pradesh government constituted a Special Investigation Team and initiated legal proceedings based on its recommendations “at the earnest request” of the Trust.
It is essential to ensure that anyone found guilty after the investigation faces severe punishment, he said, emphasising that the current “state of confusion and uncertainty” must end. (PTI)
