Ram temple row biggest shrine loot in India, PM must answer: Venugopal

Congress MP and general-secretary (organisation) K.C. Venugopal on Saturday, 11 July described the alleged embezzlement of donations meant for the Ram temple in Ayodhya as the "biggest loot of a shrine ever seen in India" and questioned Prime Minister Narendra Modi's silence on the issue.

Speaking to reporters outside the Guruvayoor temple in Kerala's Thrissur, Venugopal said the Congress would press the government for answers during the upcoming Parliament session.

"We are raising and will continue to raise the issue across the country. This loot has affected crores of believers in the country. But the PM and the home minister are silent on it. Only an SIT of Uttar Pradesh police has been constituted and the intention behind it is to save the actual culprits," he alleged.

He said only a Supreme Court-monitored investigation could uncover those responsible for the alleged embezzlement.

Venugopal claimed that organisations affiliated with the Sangh Parivar, including the VHP and RSS, had collected donations from devotees for the Ram temple over the past two decades, and alleged that those funds and gold had been siphoned off.

He further alleged that the misappropriation took place with the knowledge of office-bearers of the temple trust, whom he claimed had been appointed under the prime minister's supervision.

The Congress leader accused the BJP and the RSS of exploiting religion for political gain. "They are only interested in looting in the name of Hindus and dividing people for votes. This is not just a loot, but an attack on the faith of the devotees," he said.

Venugopal maintained that, for the Congress, the issue was one of accountability rather than politics, accusing the BJP and the RSS of using religion for electoral purposes. He also questioned the silence of the BJP's Kerala unit, claiming it suggested an attempt to shield those responsible.

The Congress leader further alleged that similar accusations of financial irregularities had surfaced in connection with the Badrinath and Kedarnath temples.

With PTI inputs