On Ram Temple Theft Row, Akhilesh Yadav's Fiery Attack On BJP

The arrest of eight people -- most of them employees of the Ayodhya Ram temple -- for siphoning of funds from offerings has given a huge opening to the Opposition, which has sharpened its attack on the government. Today, it was the turn of Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, who accused the BJP of having no "Sharam (shame)" or "dharam (religion)". He questioned how the perpetrators and the investigators can belong to the same side and underscored the allegation that some of the offerings reached as far as Karnataka.

"The government itself has accepted this fact, that such an incident has occurred there," Akhilesh Yadav told NDTV in an exclusive interview today. 

"And after the SIT's report, the things that are coming to the forefront - the SIT itself is accepting that by turning off the CCTV, the offerings that came in have been subjected to a scam on a massive scale," he said.

"So, this tampering with faith, this play with our devotion, the people of India and Sanatani people can never accept this. I have even gone so far as to say that our religion, our society is such that if they turn off the CCTV, turn off the lights, and no one watches, then those who took away the offerings can place them back. At least open a way for them," he added.

Asked if he considers the temple trust or the Chief Minister guilty, Yadav said, "I cannot say who is guilty. I am in the Opposition, so I won't label someone guilty".

But the biggest question, he said, was how the Chief Minister, is was trying to set a world record on visits to the site and talks regularly of law and order, "did not even have a system in place that can inform them of such a massive theft ".

There are more questions. If the "SIT is investigating the Trust, who did you submit the report to?" he said.

"The biggest question is also this - if you have conducted an investigation, who formed the SIT? Who formed the SIT and who was the investigation handed over to? Will there be an investigation into the SIT as well? What organisation will be there to investigate the SIT then?" he added. 

The issue of siphoning of donations was flagged first by Akhilesh Yadav's Samajwadi Party after which the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust had asked the government to order an investigation.

The government subsequently ordered an inquiry by a Special Information Team, comprising Lucknow Divisional Commissioner Vijay Vishwas Pant, Inspector General of Police Kiran S and Finance Department Special Secretary Neel Ratan. The team submitted a preliminary report to the government on Tuesday. 

Later last week, eight people were arrested and two temple office bearers -- general secretary Champat Rai and trustee Anil Mishra -- submitted their resignations, taking moral responsibility for the theft. 

Champat Rai's driver Ram Shankar Yadav was among the eight men arrested.

The Ram temple has been receiving huge donations since its inauguration in January 2024. During the FY2024-25, the Trust reported earnings of nearly Rs 327 crore, said the latest annual report that was issued last September. This included Rs 153 crore in donations and Rs 173 crore in interest income.

Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has said that no one will be allowed to play with people's faith and warned of strict action against anyone found guilty.