The Congress on Sunday launched a sharp attack on the BJP over the alleged theft of donations at the Ram temple in Ayodhya, claiming that while not everyone in the BJP is a "chhanda chor", all the "chhanda chors" are in the ruling party.
Senior Congress leader Pramod Tiwari alleged that the "theft" at the Ram Mandir was not confined to donations but had begun as early as the time of the 'Shila Pujan'.
"I hail from the Awadh region myself, and between 1985 and 1990, I served as the Tourism Minister in the UP government. I have witnessed the Ram Janmabhoomi movement from very close quarters," Tiwari said at a press conference in New Delhi.
"I am not saying that everyone in the BJP is a 'chhanda chor', but all the 'chhanda chors' are in the BJP," the Congress leader said.
"When the movement to build the Ram Mandir was underway, the slogan was: 'Ram Lalla hum ayenge; mandir wahin banayenge'. Later, when the BJP formed the government in Uttar Pradesh, I asked when the temple would be built. The reply was: 'When the BJP comes to power at the Centre as well'," he said.
"When Atal Bihari Vajpayee's government was formed at the Centre, I asked the same question again. The reply was: 'Just wait for now'. The truth is this - The BJP never wanted the Ram Mandir to be built in Ayodhya; it only wanted to keep alive the Ram Mandir issue," he alleged.
Tiwari said the Ram Mandir was constructed following a Supreme Court order and not by the BJP. He alleged that the Lok Sabha elections coincided with the construction of the Ram Mandir and that, for Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the election was more important than the temple. Consequently, he said, Modi performed the consecration ceremony of an incomplete temple, calling it an inauspicious act.
The Shankaracharyas were not invited to the consecration ceremony, even though the rituals should have been performed by them, he said.
Tiwari further alleged that Prime Minister Modi took personal charge of the entire process and that every member of the temple trust was appointed based on his personal preference.
"If Modi ji has claimed the credit for this, how can he absolve himself of the sins committed by the very people to whom he entrusted the responsibility?" he said.
He alleged that the theft of donations and offerings became institutionalised during Champat Rai's tenure as general secretary and claimed that crores of rupees were siphoned off.
The Modi government wanted the issue of donation theft to fade away with time, he alleged, but said it was deeply linked to the faith of crores of Indians.
The accused had been identified, the stolen funds accounted for and ample evidence of the alleged loot existed, Tiwari said.
"Answers must be given to the country's 1.4 billion people. We will take this issue regarding offerings and donations to the public, persist in the fight until the guilty are punished, and raise this matter again in the House on Monday," the Congress' deputy leader in the Rajya Sabha said.
"The faith and sentiments of crores of people are linked to this; therefore, I demand an impartial investigation by an SIT under the supervision of the Supreme Court and that the guilty be given severe punishment," he said.
The investigation into the alleged theft of donations at the Ram temple in Ayodhya has intensified, with a newly constituted probe team questioning people inside the temple premises, a member of the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust said on Saturday.
Trust member Mahant Dinendra Das said the inquiry into the alleged irregularities involving gold, silver and other offerings made by devotees had reached its final stage.
His statement came days after the trust tightened surveillance over the collection and counting of donations by introducing enhanced transparency measures amid the ongoing probe.
Since July 25, every stage of the donation handling process -- from removing empty boxes from the counting room to transporting, filling, sealing and returning them -- has been under continuous videographic surveillance, Das had said earlier.
An eight-member monitoring team, comprising bank employees, trust representatives, private security personnel and other designated staff, has been deployed to oversee the process.
Around 40 donation boxes installed across the temple complex are now being emptied on different days instead of all at once.
According to the trust, two professional videographers and 360-degree cameras have been deployed to record the entire exercise, while additional CCTV cameras have been installed inside the donation counting room.
Officials of the State Bank of India seal the donation-filled boxes after they reach the counting room.
The enhanced monitoring was introduced weeks after the alleged theft of temple offerings triggered a Special Investigation Team (SIT) probe.
Police have arrested multiple accused in the case and the investigation is underway.
(With inputs from PTI)
