PM Modi, Amit Shah's silence on Ram Mandir theft is shocking: Congress
Congress accused the BJP-RSS ecosystem of misusing Ram Temple donations as the probe widened. It demanded a court-monitored inquiry and questioned the silence of PM Narendra Modi and Amit Shah.
The Congress on Sunday mounted a sharp attack on the BJP and the RSS over the alleged embezzlement of donations meant for the Ram Temple in Ayodhya, calling it a 'ghotala' and a 'scam' carried out by the BJP-RSS ecosystem. The party said Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah had remained silent on the issue.
The alleged embezzlement case came to light after a Special Investigation Team set up by the Uttar Pradesh government submitted its preliminary findings. An FIR was registered on June 25, eight accused were later arrested, and police said nearly Rs 80 lakh in cash, along with some foreign currency, had been recovered so far from six of them. The investigation is continuing.
Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh told PTI Videos that 'the chanda chori has taken place which is absolutely beyond any doubt' and said the RSS statement on the issue was 'disgraceful and shameful'. 'These are the people, who try to give certificates to others for integrity, honesty and nationalism, have been caught in a most disgraceful and shameful manner,' he said.
Ramesh also alleged that donations running into thousands of crores had been syphoned off and said there should be an inquiry by a sitting Supreme Court judge and the toughest action against all the accused.
Ramesh said the silence of the prime minister and the home minister was 'shocking'. He said the prime minister, who took credit for building the Ram Temple and inaugurating it on January 22, 2024, just before the Lok Sabha elections, should make a statement. Referring to what he described as the BJP's three-pronged strategy of 'vote chori, seat chori, chanda chori', Ramesh also cited the Congress' earlier allegations of poll irregularities and the rejection of the Rajya Sabha nomination of its Madhya Pradesh candidate Meenakshi Natarajan. 'Remember the electoral bond scheme. It was struck down by the Supreme Court. Hundreds of crores were collected - chanda do dhanda lo. So this whole chanda business is part of the BJP's DNA,' he said.
He further alleged that those who were part of the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust were there because they were trusted by the BJP-RSS.
'To think that the RSS did not know what is happening, to think that the Prime Minister and Home Minister did not know what was happening, is beyond imagination. Everybody knew what was happening, this whole enterprise was a political enterprise and the donation, trust were part of that,' Ramesh said. He also asked what Nipendra Mishra, who had been the principal secretary to the prime minister, was doing. 'This is a tightly-locked, interconnected ecosystem. Nothing escapes the other's attention,' he said.
Ramesh alleged that thousands of crores had been collected from people and that many people, including Congress leaders, had willingly donated. He said it had now been proven beyond doubt that there had been embezzlement on a massive scale and added, 'This is a ghotala, a scam perpetrated by the BJP-RSS ecosystem in which the prime minister and the home minister are totally silent.' The Congress' attack came as the probe into the alleged embezzlement of Ram Temple donations continued.
The Congress on Sunday mounted a sharp attack on the BJP and the RSS over the alleged embezzlement of donations meant for the Ram Temple in Ayodhya, calling it a 'ghotala' and a 'scam' carried out by the BJP-RSS ecosystem. The party said Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah had remained silent on the issue.
The alleged embezzlement case came to light after a Special Investigation Team set up by the Uttar Pradesh government submitted its preliminary findings. An FIR was registered on June 25, eight accused were later arrested, and police said nearly Rs 80 lakh in cash, along with some foreign currency, had been recovered so far from six of them. The investigation is continuing.
Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh told PTI Videos that 'the chanda chori has taken place which is absolutely beyond any doubt' and said the RSS statement on the issue was 'disgraceful and shameful'. 'These are the people, who try to give certificates to others for integrity, honesty and nationalism, have been caught in a most disgraceful and shameful manner,' he said.
Ramesh also alleged that donations running into thousands of crores had been syphoned off and said there should be an inquiry by a sitting Supreme Court judge and the toughest action against all the accused.
Ramesh said the silence of the prime minister and the home minister was 'shocking'. He said the prime minister, who took credit for building the Ram Temple and inaugurating it on January 22, 2024, just before the Lok Sabha elections, should make a statement. Referring to what he described as the BJP's three-pronged strategy of 'vote chori, seat chori, chanda chori', Ramesh also cited the Congress' earlier allegations of poll irregularities and the rejection of the Rajya Sabha nomination of its Madhya Pradesh candidate Meenakshi Natarajan. 'Remember the electoral bond scheme. It was struck down by the Supreme Court. Hundreds of crores were collected - chanda do dhanda lo. So this whole chanda business is part of the BJP's DNA,' he said.
He further alleged that those who were part of the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust were there because they were trusted by the BJP-RSS.
'To think that the RSS did not know what is happening, to think that the Prime Minister and Home Minister did not know what was happening, is beyond imagination. Everybody knew what was happening, this whole enterprise was a political enterprise and the donation, trust were part of that,' Ramesh said. He also asked what Nipendra Mishra, who had been the principal secretary to the prime minister, was doing. 'This is a tightly-locked, interconnected ecosystem. Nothing escapes the other's attention,' he said.
Ramesh alleged that thousands of crores had been collected from people and that many people, including Congress leaders, had willingly donated. He said it had now been proven beyond doubt that there had been embezzlement on a massive scale and added, 'This is a ghotala, a scam perpetrated by the BJP-RSS ecosystem in which the prime minister and the home minister are totally silent.' The Congress' attack came as the probe into the alleged embezzlement of Ram Temple donations continued.
