Ram Temple row: Congress seeks Champat Rai’s arrest, PM apology

Stepping up its attack over the alleged embezzlement of donations at the Ram Temple in Ayodhya, the Congress on Wednesday demanded the immediate arrest of former Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust general secretary Champat Rai, sought the dissolution of the trust and called for a Supreme Court-monitored investigation into the controversy.

The Opposition party also asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to apologise to the nation for what it described as his "mistake" in selecting the trust's members, accusing him of remaining silent despite having taken political credit for the temple's construction.

Launching a scathing attack on the Centre, Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh questioned why the prime minister was now "shying away" from taking responsibility for the alleged theft of devotees' donations.

"The Congress demands: Dissolve the trust; arrest the real culprits; conduct an investigation under Supreme Court supervision; form a new trust; apologise to the nation. Modi ji, break your silence," Ramesh said in a post on X.

Addressing a press conference, senior Congress leader and former MP Shaktisinh Gohil echoed the demand for a court-monitored probe and called for a complete restructuring of the temple trust.

"The Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust should be immediately dissolved and replaced by a new trust. Its composition should be decided collectively by the Shankaracharyas, a retired Supreme Court judge, representatives of the Nirmohi Akhara and various seers and saints," Gohil said.

He asserted that Modi owed an apology to the people of the country for inducting individuals such as Champat Rai into the trust instead of respected religious leaders.

Raising questions over the temple's donation collections, Gohil claimed that daily offerings had risen sharply after the alleged theft came to light.

"Before the issue of the theft of donations from the Ram Temple came to light, daily collections amounted to ₹16–18 lakh. After the matter became public, this figure rose to ₹24–26 lakh per day," he alleged, claiming the increase raised suspicions that nearly ₹10 lakh could have been siphoned off every day earlier.

The Congress leader said crores of devotees had donated generously for the construction of Lord Ram's temple and alleged that the trust had failed to maintain transparency in accounting for the funds.

"The Ram Temple is a matter of faith for crores of people. Any alleged financial irregularity involving devotees' donations cannot be tolerated," he said.

Gohil also accused the BJP of repeatedly seeking political mileage in the name of Lord Ram, alleging that the party ignored the concerns raised by Shankaracharyas over the timing of the Pran Pratishtha ceremony for electoral considerations.

The Congress offensive comes days after the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust accepted the resignations of Champat Rai as general secretary and trustee Anil Mishra amid the donation theft controversy. Trustee Krishna Mohan has been appointed interim general secretary.

Seeking to restore devotees' confidence, the trust has announced a comprehensive overhaul of its donation management system and constituted a three-member search committee to appoint a chief executive officer (CEO).

The Congress has maintained that the trust's decision to accept the resignations of Rai and Mishra amounts to an admission that allegations of "chanda chori" (donation theft) had substance, a charge the trust has not publicly accepted.

With PTI inputs