New Delhi: The Congress on Friday demanded a Supreme Court-monitored inquiry and the dissolution of the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust after allegations that donations to the Ayodhya Ram temple were siphoned off, PTI reported.
The party accused the BJP and the RSS of betraying devotees’ trust and called the revelations proof that those who present themselves as guardians of Hinduism have been exposed.
“After using Ayodhya for their divisive politics, the BJP-RSS looted from donations of ordinary devotees and made a complete mockery of their sentiments,” Congress general secretary K C Venugopal said.
Venugopal criticised how the investigation has been handled so far, saying the FIR does not name the trustees who oversaw temple funds. “The Sangh Parivar’s farce of being true Hindus is even further exposed because the FIR registered currently does not even name the trustees who were entrusted with temple funds. Instead, the UP Police SIT has only identified low-level office bearers without implicating those at the top of this mega racket,” he posted on X. He urged that “only an independent investigation headed by a sitting Supreme Court judge will unearth the magnitude of this ‘temple loot’.”
Senior Congress leader Rajeev Shukla described the episode as a “horrific loot” and demanded accountability for alleged misappropriation. At a press briefing, he alleged that funds donated in faith—especially by villagers and poorer contributors—were diverted and lower-level staff are being made scapegoats. “This is a betrayal of people’s religious faith,” he said, adding doubts about whether junior employees could have carried out large-scale theft without senior collusion, pointing to claims that CCTV systems were switched off.
Shukla also accused the BJP and RSS of seeking influence over temple administration to channel offerings for political ends, and urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to step in and ensure strict action. He called for the Trust’s dissolution and its reconstitution to include religious seers, saints and other non-political figures.
Eight people named in the FIR have been arrested, senior officials confirmed on Friday. The complaint was filed by Krishna Mohan, a member of the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust, following recommendations in a preliminary report by a Special Investigation Team set up by the Uttar Pradesh government to probe the matter.
