Maha Congress launches protest over alleged Ayodhya temple donation scam

The Maharashtra Congress will on Tuesday launch a statewide protest against the BJP and the RSS over alleged irregularities in donations made to the Ram temple in Ayodhya, escalating the political row over claims that cash and valuables offered by devotees have gone missing.

State Congress president Harshwardhan Sapkal said the agitation would begin at 11 am at the historic Kalaram Temple in Nashik. The party will then organise a statewide ‘Raghupati Raghav Raja Ram’ satyagraha at district headquarters between 9 and 14 July, with protests planned at local Ram, Shiva or Hanuman temples.

Announcing the campaign on Monday, Sapkal alleged that devotees had donated crores of rupees as well as gold and silver ornaments to the Ram temple, but the offerings had been “plundered”. He said the issue was not merely one of financial wrongdoing but a betrayal of the faith of millions of Ram devotees.

The Congress said it would demand strict action against those responsible and accused the BJP and the RSS of misusing the name of Lord Ram. Sapkal also said prayers would be offered during the protests, asking the deity to “grant wisdom” to those who had allegedly pocketed money donated in the name of Ram.

The party’s move comes a day after the Shiv Sena (UBT) launched its own statewide ‘Ram Raksha Andolan’ over the same issue. The agitation was inaugurated by party chief Uddhav Thackeray at the Hanuman Temple in Dadar on 5 July, where he joined party workers and visiting sadhus from Ayodhya in a Ram Raksha Maha Aarti.

As part of its campaign, the Shiv Sena (UBT) has planned district-level programmes centred on the chanting of the Ram Raksha Stotra and the Hanuman Chalisa. Senior leaders of the party have demanded the dissolution of the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust and called for full administrative accountability in the handling of temple donations.

Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut alleged that not only cash but also gold ornaments, a gold copy of the Ramcharitmanas and a mangalsutra offered to Sita had gone missing. Thackeray, invoking the Shiv Sena’s role in the Ram Janmabhoomi movement, said those who exploit religious faith for personal gain would not be forgiven by Hindus.

The allegations around the Ayodhya temple donations have now triggered a fresh political flashpoint in Maharashtra, with both the Congress and the Shiv Sena (UBT) seeking to turn the issue into a broader attack on the BJP over accountability and the use of religion in politics.

With IANS inputs