Stepping up the Opposition's attack on the Centre, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Tuesday accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah of either being "scared" or insulting Parliament by avoiding responsibility of the alleged Ram Temple donation theft and the police action against students at Jantar Mantar.
Kharge demanded a discussion on the two issues in both houses of Parliament for the truth to come out.
Opposition members have been protesting in both the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha over the issue and have stalled proceedings in Parliament.
Kharge, who is the leader of the opposition in the Rajya Sabha, also raised the matter in the house but was not allowed to speak. Raising the matter, he said serious allegations had surfaced regarding the misappropriation of valuable offerings, cash donations, land purchases, and management within the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust.
"This is a matter of faith for millions of devotees. The formation of this trust was done by the central government, with the announcement made personally by Prime Minister Modi in the House," he said in a post on X.
The Congress president said the central government handed over more than 70 acres of land to the trust, and Modi was present at every significant occasion from the land worship to the consecration ceremony.
"In such circumstances, the Prime Minister cannot evade responsibility on serious allegations including the theft of offerings. He should tell the House where the ED, CBI, Income Tax, and other investigative agencies are?
"Those who loot in the name of Lord Ram should apologise to the entire country and stop misleading the nation," he said.
Later talking to the media outside Parliament, Kharge said his request was that Modi and Shah should come to the House to allow it to function.
"We want to discuss."
"We want the Chairman and Speaker to allow a discussion in both Houses. If there is a discussion on the Ram Mandir donation theft and the brutality against students, the truth will come out on its own, but for some reason, the government seems panicked.
"On top of that, Home Minister Amit Shah is also not coming to the House. Either they are scared, or by not coming here, they want to insult Parliament," Kharge alleged.
The Congress and other opposition parties staged protests within the Parliament House premises and shouted slogans against the government, demanding answers on the two issues.
(With inputs from PTI)
