File photo of KC Venugopal
NEW DELHI: The Congress on Monday hit out at the Vishva Hindu Parishad after the organisation wrote to the Ayodhya police over remarks made by opposition leaders on the alleged theft of donations at the Ram temple.The VHP has urged police to examine the claims made by several opposition leaders, including Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and AAP convener Arvind Kejriwal, and summon them to substantiate their allegations.Reacting to the move, Congress general secretary K C Venugopal said the VHP’s letter attacking opposition leaders in the Ram Temple theft case was a “classic case of the pot calling the kettle black”.”The same VHP that had in the past faced allegations by the Nirmohi Akhara of a ‘Rs 1,400 crore Ram Mandir scam’ is demanding that opposition leaders who questioned the alleged loot be interrogated,” Venugopal said in a post on X.”The demand is as absurd as it is shameless. Having itself come under the scanner, the VHP has neither the moral authority nor the credibility to point fingers at the Opposition,” he said.Venugopal questioned why opposition leaders were being dragged into the matter when the temple trust, he said, had links to the BJP-led establishment.”Afterall, Temple Trust was set up by PM Modi; Trust General Secretary- Champat Rai, VHP Vice President and RSS Pracharak; Trust Chairman Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister of India, awarded Padma Bushan by the BJP; Central and State Government — BJP-ruled. Then, how are Priyanka ji, Akhilesh ji or other opposition leaders even relevant to this matter?” he said.The Congress leader claimed that the VHP and the Sangh Parivar stood “completely discredited” over the issue.”The controversial Ram Temple movement has long been dogged by allegations of Chanda Chori, and the latest reports have once again exposed that these self-proclaimed ‘saviors’ of Hindus have nothing to do with religion or Lord Ram. They only exploit devotees’ faith and misuse Lord Ram’s name for political and financial gain,” Venugopal alleged.He also asked why the VHP had not demanded action against those within its own ranks if it was concerned about the sanctity of the Ram Mandir.”Why is it silent on the BJP leadership that claimed full credit for the temple’s construction but is now conspicuously absent when the Trust appointed by them is itself under scrutiny?” he asked.”Having been cornered by serious questions and left red-faced, they are now trying to create a spectacle, feign innocence, twist facts, intimidate critics and divert attention so that their own moral rot and ethical bankruptcy is not exposed,” Venugopal said.Reiterating the party’s demand for a court-monitored investigation, he added, “We reiterate our demand for an independent, Supreme Court-monitored probe. The current SIT is no more than an elaborate mechanism to protect the plunderers of Ram Mandir.”The Congress attack came a day after party leader Pawan Khera said fresh allegations and evidence were emerging every day in connection with the alleged donation theft at the Ram temple.In a video statement posted on X, Khera said VHP leader Alok Kumar had written to the investigating officer asking that evidence be sought from Priyanka Gandhi, Akhilesh Yadav and Ram Gopal Yadav.”So, the implication is that one side commits the theft, while another is expected to provide the proof,” Khera said.”The truth is that they have no real intention of catching the thieves. As always, their only aim is to emotionally mislead Hindu society to further their own political interests,” he alleged.Khera also accused the VHP of using religion for political purposes and said the organisation should “stop being the contractors of the Hindu community”.”They must remove the word Hindu from their organisations and then carry out as many robberies as they want. Do not spoil the name of the Hindu community and stop running your shops at their expense,” he said.”Your intention is not to find out about the theft or to catch the thieves, your intention is what it was before the temple was built, that to make the Hindu community emotional and then rob them, snatch votes from them and now also snatch notes from them,” Khera said.”If they had to catch the thieves they would not have been demanding answers from Priyanka Gandhi,” he added.The VHP, meanwhile, has sought action against the opposition leaders if police find that they made “wild allegations” intended to create and promote “hatred, ill will and enmity”.In a letter dated July 4 to Ayodhya Deputy Superintendent of Police Ashutosh Tiwari, the investigating officer in the case, VHP international president Alok Kumar said the leaders had made specific allegations that were widely circulated on television channels, social media platforms and other electronic media.The VHP has urged the investigating officer to call the leaders and ask them to disclose the factual basis of their claims, the source of their information and any documents or material supporting them. 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