Calling the alleged embezzlement of donations to the Ram Temple in Ayodhya the "biggest loot of a shrine ever seen in India", Congress general secretary KC Venugopal on Saturday questioned Prime Minister Narendra Modi's silence over the issue.
Venugopal, speaking to reporters outside the Guruvayoor temple in Thrissur, said that the Congress will demand an answer from the PM in the upcoming Parliament session on the issue.
"We are raising and will continue to raise the issue across the country. This loot has affected crores of believers in the country. But the PM and the Home Minister are silent on it. Only an SIT of Uttar Pradesh police has been constituted and the intention behind it is to save the actual culprits," he contended.
He claimed that only a Supreme Court-monitored probe will reveal the actual culprits behind the loot.
Venugopal said that Sangh Parivar organisations like the VHP and RSS had taken donations from devotees for the last 20-25 years in the name of the temple and it is that money and gold which has been looted.
He alleged that it was done with the knowledge of the temple trust office bearers who were appointed under the supervision of the PM.
The Congress leader further alleged that the BJP and RSS were "not actual believers".
"They are only interested in looting in the name of Hindus and dividing people for votes. This is not just a loot, but an attack on the faith of the devotees," he contended.
He further said that it was not a political issue for the Congress, unlike the BJP and RSS who "used Gods for their own political purposes".
Venugopal also questioned why the BJP in Kerala was silent and claimed that it indicated that they wanted to protect the actual culprits.
He also claimed that similar allegations of loots were being reported with regard to the Badrinath and Kedarnath temples.
(With inputs from PTI)
