MUMBAI: Uddhav Thackeray on Friday accused the RSS and the BJP of siphoning off donations meant for the Ram Temple in Ayodhya and alleged that the money was used to engineer defections by buying Opposition MLAs and MPs.
Addressing reporters, the Shiv Sena (UBT) chief claimed that thousands of devotees had donated money, gold and silver bricks for the construction of the Ram Temple, but alleged that crores of rupees had been siphoned off by the trust constituted to manage the temple.
"MLAs and MPs are sold and bought in the market like animals. The donations collected at Ram Temple are being allegedly siphoned by Ram Temple trust people, and that money has been used to carry out the operation. BJP has done an operation at Ram Temple by siphoning off its donation money," Thackeray alleged.
Announcing a "Ram Raksha" protest, Thackeray said devotees would gather at Hanuman Mandir in Dadar, Mumbai, at 4 pm on July 5 to recite the Ram Stotra and Hanuman Chalisa and raise awareness about what he described as the "loot" of Ram Temple donations.
He alleged that the reported misappropriation had hurt the sentiments of thousands of Ram devotees and Hindus and questioned the accountability of those entrusted with managing the temple funds.
"The government at the Centre and in the state, instead of punishing the culprits, is protecting them and engaging in cover-up operations," he alleged.
Thackeray further claimed that Hindus would not tolerate the alleged misuse of Ram Temple donations and accused the BJP of exploiting religion for political gains.
"The real face of the BJP has come out in public. Hindus have more threats from the BJP," he alleged.