Lucknow, Jun 8 (PTI): Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Brajesh Pathak on Monday accused Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav of spreading misinformation with his allegation of theft of donation money at the Ayodhya Ram Temple.
Pathak alleged that Yadav never respected the Supreme Court’s decision on the temple and maintained silence during various stages of its construction.
“Those trying to spread rumours about Shri Ram Temple are attempting to create a false narrative. The people of the state understand such politics,” he said.
A political slugfest has broken out in Uttar Pradesh ever since Yadav made allegations of massive swindling of money donated to the Ram Temple.
Meanwhile, BJP Uttar Pradesh president Pankaj Chaudhary said the issue was related to the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust and not the state government.
Speaking in Jhansi, Chaudhary said the matter was being examined by the trust and steps were being taken to maintain transparency in offerings received at the temple.
“This is not a government matter but a matter concerning the trust. The trust is investigating it. If anyone is found guilty, strict action will be taken. No one will be spared if any theft or wrongdoing in the name of the temple is found,” he told reporters during a brief city tour.
Aam Aadmi Party leader Sanjay Singh, however, attacked the BJP government, alleging that the issue involved misuse of devotees’ contributions.
“After allegations of donation collection and land irregularities, now there are allegations of theft from the donation box as well,” Singh alleged in a video on X.
He also claimed that media reports mentioned the arrest of four people in connection with the matter and recovery of money from one of them.
Congress MP Tanuj Punia told PTI Videos that the issue required a serious inquiry as the temple was a matter of faith for devotees across the world.
“The Ram Temple is not only an issue for the country but for Hindus across the world. If there are any concerns regarding construction, management or finances, they should be examined seriously instead of being defended,” Punia said.
On Sunday, Yadav alleged that crores of rupees from donations made at the Ram Temple were missing and demanded judicial intervention.
“The government’s silence is suspicious,” he said.
In his response, Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust general secretary Champat Rai said internal audits were underway and no evidence supporting the allegations had yet emerged.
Rai said representatives of the trust and the State Bank of India were involved in the audit, which is conducted periodically and takes several days.
Yadav said the trust’s clarification was vague and demanded that all its members come together to explain the matter. He also suggested examining CCTV footage to verify the donation figure.
Trust member Mahant Dinendra Das said he has faith that the truth will come out.
Former Ayodhya MLA and Samajwadi Party spokesman Tej Narayan Pandey in a statement questioned the “silence” of the trust’s.
“Why is the trust silent? Why has no response from the trust come in this matter so far? This scam in the Ram Temple trust is not new, scams have happened before this too,” he alleged.
“This case of embezzlement of money came to light some three-four days ago but for how long this embezzlement has been going on must be investigated,” he added.
People associated with the trust, security and agencies are all avoiding saying anything officially.
The persons associated with the temple management have also maintained silence.
The Shriram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust has placed about four dozen donation boxes at several places in front of the Ram Temple and all other temples and along the entire darshan route.
Money from these boxes is collected daily and the trust has authorised the SBI to count cash.
SBI has, in turn, engaged a private agency for counting.
On Monday also, Akhilesh Yadav shared on X a news clip related to the temple donation, arresting of four people and CCTV footage unveiling the theft and captioned it “Ullekhneey”, meaning, noteworthy. PTI COR KIS VN VN VN
(This story is published as part of the auto-generated syndicate wire feed. No editing has been done in the headline or the body by ABP Live.)
