LUCKNOW: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Wednesday admitted that the alleged theft of donations at the Ram temple had hurt devotees' faith, but called the opposition's attempt to defame Ayodhya and the Ram Janmabhoomi was unjustified.
Addressing the "Panchayat Aaj Tak" programme organised by the India Today Group, he also launched a sharp attack on opposition parties, particularly the Samajwadi Party, accusing them of politicising matters of faith despite their past record.
"The Ayodhya incident has certainly hurt the faith of all of us, of Ram devotees like us. The Ram temple trust is an independent body and the government has no authority to interfere in its affairs. The trust requested a probe and the state government constituted an SIT. As soon as the SIT report came, action was initiated," he said.
The chief minister said six people allegedly involved in the theft had been arrested, while two others accused of assisting them had also been taken into custody.
"Along with the arrests, two resignations have also taken place on moral grounds (former Trust general secretary Champat Rai and trustee Anil Mishra). But using this incident to defame Ayodhya, the Ram Janmabhoomi and the faith of Hindus is not justified," he said.
The alleged embezzlement of Ram temple donations came to light in the first week of June, following which the Uttar Pradesh government constituted a Special Investigation Team (SIT).
An FIR was registered on June 25 on the basis of the SIT's preliminary report. Eight persons associated with the temple's donation-counting process have been arrested in the case so far.