Ram Mandir donation controversy: Congress’s Ajay Rai placed under house arrest ahead of party delegation’s visit to Ayodhya | Video | Today’s news
A high Congress delegation is scheduled to visit Ayodhya on Tuesday to offer prayers at the Ram temple amid the ongoing row over alleged financial irregularities linked to the shrine.
According to a Congress statement, the delegation will be led by Uttar Pradesh Congress president Ajay Rai and will include MPs Kishori Lal Sharma (Amethi), Rakesh Rathor (Sitapur), Ujjwal Raman Singh (Prayagraj) and Tanuj Punia (Barabanki).
In a separate statement issued late on Monday, the party claimed that Rai had been placed under house arrest at a hotel in Ayodhya.
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Employees are accused of inserting special notes into the money packets before preparing the gift vouchers, which allowed some of the donations to be siphoned off during the bank transfer.
Ajay Rai has reportedly been placed under house arrest in Ayodhya ahead of a scheduled visit by a Congress delegation to pray at the Ram temple amid allegations of financial irregularities linked to the temple.
Eight persons, including Anukalp Mishra and Lavkush Mishra, have been arrested in connection with the alleged donation scam at Ram Mandir.
The Supreme Court has rejected an urgent hearing of a petition seeking a CBI-led probe into the gift irregularities, saying the matter could be taken up after the summer break.
The donation dispute sparked a furious political blame game, with various parties accusing each other of corruption and wrongdoing, which significantly affected the political dynamics in Uttar Pradesh.
Former Barabanki MP SP Gautam, former MLC Deepak Singh, former Maharajganj MLA Virendra Chaudhary and former Barabanki MLA Mita Gautam will also be in the delegation.
The Congress said it had already informed the local administration about the planned visit.
Read also | Alleging ‘chanda-chori’ at Ram Mandir, AAP is seeking strict action against the culprits
Earlier on Monday, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Dayashankar Singh accused opposition leaders of lacking faith in Lord Ram, saying they neither visited the Ram temple in Ayodhya nor contributed to its construction. He also criticized them for interrogating those who had given up “family life to serve the nation,” according to PTI.
“These are people who don’t believe in Lord Ram. Some of them don’t even accept his existence. They never went for Lord Ram’s darshan. Have those who are criticizing ever visited a Ram temple? Did they contribute to its construction?” Singh asked.
Ayodhya lawyers boycott accused, seek CBI probe
The Faizabad Bar Association in Ayodhya on Monday announced that none of its members would appear because of the eight people arrested in connection with the alleged Ram temple donation scam. The association also said it would seek a CBI probe into the case.
Read also | Who is Anukalp Mishra? Accused of stealing Ram Mandir donation faces search
In a separate development, the Supreme Court heard a plea seeking a time-bound investigation by a multi-disciplinary team led by the CBI. However, the holiday bench refused to hear the matter urgently, adjourning it until after the summer recess, noting that “the sky is not going to fall”.
The Bar has passed a resolution that any member who violates its decision to boycott the accused will be fined ₹5 lakhs. He also demanded that Champat Rai, Anil Mishra and Gopal Rao – who are associated with the temple management but are not named in the FIR – “leave” Ayodhya within three days, warning that otherwise the city will be locked down and no one will be allowed to enter.
Calling for legal action against the three individuals, the association’s president Kalika Prasad Mishra said the body would approach the high court and, if necessary, the Supreme Court to ask the CBI to investigate.
Read also | Ram Mandir Trust ‘shocked’ by donation row says devotees’ offerings are safe
The association recalled that it took a similar position in 2005 after the terrorist attack on the then makeshift Ram temple, when its members refused to defend the accused. In that case they were eventually represented by a lawyer from Lucknow.
The eight accused, who were arrested last Thursday, were produced before Special Judge (Anti-Corruption Court) Rajat Verma through video conferencing. According to Special Public Prosecutor Umesh Dubey, they were remanded in judicial custody for the next two weeks after the police decided not to seek their arrest.
The accused were responsible for counting the cash and valuables received as donations at the Ram temple.
Meanwhile, PTI’s sources in State Bank of India (SBI) claimed that the bank had proposed to replace the staff involved in counting donations at the temple about three months ago, but Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust had not approved the move. The trust did not immediately respond to the claim.
According to sources, about three months ago, the SBI suspected that money was being siphoned off from donation boxes at the temple and recommended removing the staff handling the cash counting process.
During the Supreme Court hearing, Justices MM Sundresh and Sheel Nagu dismissed a request for an urgent hearing on the alleged donation irregularities, saying the matter will be heard after the court reopens on July 13 after the summer recess.
“The heavens are not falling… What’s the urgency,” the bench remarked orally.
The petition filed by advocates Ajay Kumar Rai and Dinesh Kumar Yadav demanded that a CBI-led multi-disciplinary special investigation team (SIT) probe the alleged irregularities related to the functioning and management of the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust.
The plea also demanded that the Supreme Court direct the Centre, the Uttar Pradesh government and the temple trust to create and put in place regulatory, inspection and control mechanisms to protect the trust of millions of devotees and donors.
According to the petition, this matter goes beyond the alleged commission of overt crimes and directly affects the faith and trust of countless devotees.
