Corruption has been institutionalised in the name of Trust and that the theft of donations reflected a “planned conspiracy” to exploit the faith of devotees:Akhilesh Yadav.
Lucknow, July 15: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Wednesday said the alleged theft of donations at the Ram temple had hurt the faith of devotees, but the opposition move to defame Ayodhya and Ram Janmabhoomi was not justified.
“The Ayodhya incident has certainly hurt the faith of all of us, of Ram devotees like us. The Ram temple trust is an independent body and the government has no authority to interfere in its affairs. The trust requested a probe and the state government constituted an SIT. As soon as the SIT report came, action was initiated,” he said.
The chief minister said six people allegedly involved in the theft had been arrested, while two others accused of assisting them had also been taken into custody.
“Along with the arrests, two resignations have also taken place on moral grounds (former Trust general secretary Champat Rai and trustee Anil Mishra).
But using this incident to defame Ayodhya, the Ram Janmabhoomi and the faith of Hindus is not justified,” he said.
The alleged embezzlement of Ram temple donations came to light in the first week of June, following which the Uttar Pradesh government constituted a Special Investigation Team (SIT).
Eight persons associated with the temple’s donation-counting process have been arrested in the case so far.
Wife of Ram temple theft accused gets 7 days to submit house documents
The Ayodhya Development Authority (ADA) on Wednesday granted seven days instead of one month sought by Supriya Mishra, the wife of Ram temple donation embezzlement accused Lavkush Mishra, to submit documents related to a house under construction in the Sahadatganj area here.
Supriya Mishra visited the ADA office accompanied by her daughter and father and submitted a formal application seeking one month to complete the documentation process for the property located in Banvirpur, sources in the ADA said.
According to the sources, the authority directed Supriya Mishra to produce all valid records and files related to the property within the next seven days.
‘Ram temple stained due to BJP’s misdeeds’
Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav on Wednesday alleged that the ruling BJP was trying to divert public attention with “immature statements” following theft of donations at the Ram temple in Ayodhya.
“BJP made much fanfare over Ayodhya and the Ram temple, claiming that the city had achieved development of international standards. However, due to the BJP’s misdeeds, Ayodhya and the Ram temple have been stained by allegations of theft of devotees’ offerings,” he said in a statement issued here.
He said corruption had been institutionalised in the name of Trust and that the theft of donations reflected a “planned conspiracy” to exploit the faith of devotees.
He claimed the public would socially and politically reject those responsible.
Yadav also alleged that the BJP had failed on all fronts and accused its “double-engine” government of pushing Uttar Pradesh into backwardness due to administrative inefficiency.
He also claimed that crimes against women had increased and that promises of investment had remained confined to slogans. (PTI)
