Staff Reporter
Breaking its silence on the intensifying controversy surrounding alleged financial irregularities in the Ram Temple donation funds, the Congress on Wednesday launched a direct political offensive against the Centre, holding Prime Minister Narendra Modi ultimately responsible for what it termed an “organized robbery.”
Spearheading the attack at a press conference at the party’s headquarters here, Uttar Pradesh Congress President Ajay Rai and Congress Legislative Party Leader Aradhana Misra Mona alleged that while high-ranking figures and trusted associates of the Prime Minister are deeply embedded in the financial management of the shrine, smaller officials are being unfairly targeted as scapegoats.
The opposition’s sharp critique comes as a newly constituted three-member Special Investigation Team (SIT) begins its probe into the sensitive fund-handling allegations in Ayodhya—an administrative move that Rai argued is a tacit admission by the government that substantial fraud has indeed occurred. Raising the stakes, Rai alleged that irregularities worth up to Rs 1,400 crore took place during the nationwide fund-collection campaign launched prior to the temple’s construction, claiming that vast sums of money remain completely unaccounted for.
Focusing the party’s scrutiny on the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust, the Congress specifically called out its chairman, Nripendra Misra—a retired top bureaucrat who previously served as Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister for five years—alongside other key members such as Champat Rai, Anil Mishra, and Gopal Rai, describing them all as close proxies of the Prime Minister. Pointing to recent statements from a former BJP MP who hinted at the involvement of high-profile individuals, the Congress demanded that the SIT bypass lower-level drivers and clerks to jail the “big fish” orchestrating the alleged scam. Asserting that the current SIT timeline is inadequate, the party demanded a fast-tracked report within one week and called for a transparent, parallel inquiry overseen by a sitting High Court judge to investigate the alleged betrayal of public faith.