‘Chanda chori par chuppi chaayi’: Congress slams BJP over Ram temple donation theft case.

Raising awareness over the Ram Temple donation theft case, the Congress on Monday (Oct 19, 2026) “silenced” Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, saying it was the responsibility of the country’s citizens to punish “chanda chors blinded by the arrogance of power”.

Congress general secretary in charge of communications Jairam Ramesh demanded that a full account of the temple’s victims be made public, that the roles of all those responsible be investigated and that no official be spared responsibility.

A post in Hindi on Ramesh said: “‘Chanda chori, Aastha dhokha. Ram ke naam se satta paayi, Chanda chori par chuppi chaayi’. The BJP, which came to power by invoking the name of Lord Ram, will see its downfall because of the sin of this theft.”

The Special Investigation Team (SIT) was constituted in a manner that suited the very accused individuals, he claimed.

“The massive theft at the Lord Ram temple in Ayodhya came to light on June 4, 2026. Nine days later, on June 13, 2026, the UP government – acting on the request of the Trust – constituted an SIT. On August 17, the Home Ministry submitted a final report to the same Trust; as expected, it gave Mr. Raatmesh a clean chit.

“The theft was caught on camera 105 times. The footage, recorded between April 27 and June 5, 2026, shows staff – tasked with counting the funds – hiding wads of banknotes,” he said.

“Those responsible for the treasury have issued a clean cheque, and since the treasurer was responsible for the funds, the most important questions naturally fall on him,” he said.

“The saints in Ayodhya pointed out that the treasurer, Govind Giri, should have been aware of the inflow and outflow of funds. Yet on July 7, he claimed that Champat Rai had no role in the scandal,” he said.

Mr. Ramesh claimed that the extent of the theft remains hidden and to date the nation has not been informed of the total amount of money or the value of the valuables stolen.

“The June 23 preliminary report clearly indicated that surveillance protocols were not being followed and that the control room was often left unattended. Why was there no investigation into who else was involved or held accountable? How could the investigation be closed without the actual numbers regarding the theft being released?” he said.

“Low-level staff in prison, while those in high positions remain free,” he said.

“An FIR was registered on June 25 and eight individuals involved in the census process were arrested the next day; but no former Trust official is named in the FIR. Why was there no rigorous questioning by the ED or the CBI?” he said.

In Ayodhya, Lord Ram showed his displeasure by causing the defeat of the BJP – a warning the party failed to heed, allowing the theft of temple offerings to continue – the Congress leader said, referring to the defeat of the BJP candidate in the 2024 Lok Sabha constituency polls.

“The BJP government cannot be expected to investigate the persons connected to the Sangh Parivar who are involved in the theft of these offerings. Therefore, the Congress demands that the entire issue of theft of offerings at the Lord Ram temple in Ayodhya be investigated in an independent, impartial and transparent manner under the supervision of the Supreme Court,” he said.

“A full description of all bids must be made public, the roles of all those responsible must be investigated and no official should be shielded from accountability,” demanded Mr. Ramesh.

“More than four-and-a-half months have passed since the donation theft at the Lord Ram temple in Ayodhya came to light, yet Chief Minister Ajay Singh Bisht and Prime Minister Narendra Modi are silent,” he said.

“It is now up to the citizens of this country to hold these individuals — who stole donations while blinded by the arrogance of power — to account and ensure they are punished,” Ramesh said.

Earlier this month, the Congress claimed that people like former Ram Temple Trust General Secretary Champat Rai were protected in the investigation into the theft of donations at the Ram Temple and hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his “silence” on the issue, saying “arrogance of power is suicide”.

The opposition party also questioned why there was a 21-day delay in lodging the FIR after the video of the stolen amount reached Rai on June 4.

Mr. Ramesh asked whether the purpose of the investigation was to catch petty thieves or also to establish accountability against those under whose supervision and patronage these incidents took place.

The Congress has raised a number of questions over the SIT investigation into the theft of donations at the Ram temple, saying that only an impartial and transparent investigation under the supervision of the Supreme Court can reveal the truth.

The opposition party also questioned Prime Minister Modi’s silence on the issue, saying it meant the thieves “enjoyed his protection”. The Congress’ sustained attack on the BJP comes ahead of the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly polls early next year.

Published – 19 Oct 2026 19:19 IST