Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati on Tuesday termed the alleged embezzlement of donations at the Ram temple in Ayodhya as "extremely serious and worrying", while urging political parties not to politicise the matter.
In a post on X, the former Uttar Pradesh chief minister said, "The media reports appearing every day regarding the theft, embezzlement and misappropriation of offerings at the Shri Ram Temple in Ayodhya are extremely serious and worrying. Such people should not be spared under any circumstances, but it is also not right to politicise this issue."
She also called for a transparent system to manage temple donations, drawing on practices followed by other major temples.
"At the same time, to ensure that no complaints arise in future regarding the offerings made by devotees at the temple, it would be appropriate to adopt the system followed by other renowned and famous temples in the country for maintaining accounts of donations and offerings, and resolve this matter at the earliest."
Mayawati further cautioned against mixing politics, crime and religion.
"Criminalisation of politics, the politicisation of crime, the politicisation of religion and the blind religiousisation of politics should all be avoided. This would be proper and in keeping with the Constitution. This is the BSP's advice to political parties in the interest of the nation and the people, and at the same time an appeal to the people of the country," she said in the post.
Her remarks come as the Ayodhya Police and a Special Investigation Team constituted by the Uttar Pradesh government continue to probe the alleged theft of donations at the Ram temple.
Eight people associated with counting donation cash have so far been arrested and remanded to judicial custody in connection with the case. The alleged embezzlement has also triggered demands for action against senior officials linked to the temple's management.
(With inputs from PTI)