A financial scandal involving the alleged misappropriation of hundreds of crores of rupees donated by devotees at the Ram Temple in Ayodhya has triggered an intense political confrontation. Within days of the fraud allegations surfacing, Champat Rai, General Secretary of the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teertha Kshetra Trust, and trustee Anil Mishra resigned from their posts. Uttar Pradesh government sources confirmed both stepped down on moral grounds. The accusations centre on certain temple employees who allegedly acted in collusion with bank officials to carry out the irregularities. Rather than calming the storm, the resignations have only intensified opposition demands for a sweeping probe and the dissolution of the entire trust.
Sanjay Raut: Dissolve the Entire Trust
Shiv Sena (UBT) Rajya Sabha member Sanjay Raut dismissed the resignations as wholly inadequate. "What will Champat Rai's resignation achieve?" he asked. "An SIT was set up and it submitted its report. They arrested a few small-time people, but the entire trust should be dissolved." Raut also credited Akhilesh Yadav, the Samajwadi Party chief and former Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, with first raising this issue publicly, arguing the scandal may never have surfaced otherwise.
Rajiv Shukla: Where Did Hundreds of Crores Go?
Congress Rajya Sabha MP Rajiv Shukla argued that two resignations cannot close a case of this scale. "If hundreds or thousands of crores of rupees have been looted, did all that money go only to Champat Rai?" he asked. "This is a very big case and it must be thoroughly investigated." He maintained the controversy would not end until every rupee was accounted for.
RJD Alleges Cover-Up to Protect the 'Big Fish'
RJD spokesperson Shakti Yadav also trained his sights on the government. He noted that Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav had already described the resignations as an extremely serious matter. Shakti Yadav said only an FIR has been registered so far and accused certain individuals of working to protect the "main fish" in this case. He warned that if the investigation genuinely reached those with real power, many influential names could emerge. Shakti Yadav was blunt: "Politics and the donations game have been played in the very name of Lord Shri Ram. These people have nothing to do with religion or duty. Their only business is to 'eat donations and feed donations.'"
State of the Investigation
The SIT submitted its report and some lower-level individuals have been arrested. Opposition parties insist the probe has been deliberately confined to minor players, leaving those truly responsible untouched. An FIR has been registered, but critics argue the real investigation has barely begun.
