Congress seeks SC-monitored probe into alleged theft of Ram temple funds

The Congress has demanded a Supreme Court-monitored inquiry by a Special Investigation Team into the alleged embezzlement of donations made to the Ram temple in Ayodhya.

Congress leader Pramod Tiwari described the Special Investigation Team currently looking into the case as a “sham” and alleged that the officer leading the investigation was himself facing a criminal inquiry.

Tiwari alleged at a press conference on Sunday that the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party has been “looting people” in the name of the deity Ram for a long time.

“I’m not saying that everyone in the Bharatiya Janata Party is a ‘donation thief’, but everyone who is a ‘donation thief’ is in the BJP,” Tiwari said.

The Rajya Sabha MP claimed that when Prime Minister Narendra Modi travelled to Ayodhya in 2024 to inaugurate the temple, Rs 112 crore was spent on preparations. “Flowers were bought at five to ten times the price and the cost of chairs was so exorbitant that new chairs could have been purchased,” he said.

The Congress MP further said that Modi cannot escape accountability for the “donation theft” as every member of the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust had been personally selected by him. He alleged that seers and saints were kept out of the trust, while individuals affiliated with...

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