NEW DELHI/LUCKNOW : The Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) on Sunday urged the Ayodhya police to examine the claims made by several Opposition leaders, including Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal, regarding the alleged theft of donations at the Ram temple.
In a letter to the Ayodhya deputy SP, the investigating officer in the case, VHP international president Alok Kumar requested that the leaders be summoned to substantiate their allegations. He demanded that action be taken against the leaders if they are found to have made wild allegations only to promote feelings of “hatred, ill will and enmity”.
Kumar said the leaders have even attributed definite figures, including allegations involving amounts exceeding Rs 20,000 crore. He said Priyanka questioned whether junior employees alone could have switched off CCTV cameras and manipulated offerings worth thousands of crores, or whether influential people are involved. Kumar said Kejriwal alleged that about Rs 200 crore in cash, besides Lord Ram’s garland, charan padukas, and diamonds, have been stolen.
The letter also referred to statements allegedly made by SP leader Ram Gopal Yadav and AAP MP Sanjay Singh on the “theft” of cash and valuables donated at the temple. Kumar noted that Yadav alleged a Rs 20,000-crore scam, claiming that not only junior employees but also influential people are involved.
“Should any of the persons furnish credible material in support of their allegations, the same would undoubtedly assist the investigating agency in discovering the truth,” the letter said. “If it is found that knowingly false or reckless allegations have been made without any supporting basis, the investigating agency may consider taking such action as may be permissible in law,” the letter said.
Calling embezzlement of donations a “scam”, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said, “Donations running into thousands of crores have been siphoned off. There should be an inquiry by a sitting Supreme Court judge and toughest action should be taken against the accused.”
Meanwhile, the special investigation team has widened the ambit of probe to trace the money invested or spent by the swindlers. Police are combing through the hideouts of the eight accused, so that the evidence of their movable and immovable assets could be secured. “The involvement of the accused persons in the case has been established but the whereabouts of the money swindled by them is yet to be known,” said a police officer privy to the matter.
CPI(M) MP seeks review of RTI stance on trust
As controversy over the Ram Mandir donation theft rages on, CPI(M) Rajya Sabha MP John Brittas has written a letter to Union Home Minister Amit Shah seeking a review of the stance of keeping the Shree Ram Teerth Kshetra Trust out of the ambit of the Right To Information Act. He said bringing the trust under the purview of the Act would ensure transparency in its functioning.