The Congress on Tuesday said that the alleged theft of offerings at the Ram Janmabhoomi Temple in Ayodhya was an extremely serious matter and demanded the immediate dissolution of the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust. The party also called for the constitution of a new trust and sought an investigation into the entire matter by a sitting or retired judge of the Supreme Court.

 

Addressing a press conference at the party headquarters, senior Congress leader and former Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot said the new trust should include saints and prominent religious leaders. He said the alleged theft of temple offerings had become a matter of discussion across the country and had deeply hurt the sentiments of millions of devotees associated with the Ram Temple.

 

Gehlot alleged that the temple trust had been constituted in a unilateral manner without a clear mechanism to ensure accountability. He questioned that if the matter was merely a case of negligence, there would have been no need to register a First Information Report (FIR), constitute a Special Investigation Team (SIT), or make arrests. He said that while the trust had described the incident as negligence during its meetings, the sequence of events raised far more serious questions.

 

The Congress leader further alleged that certain individuals were aware of the alleged theft beforehand but attempted to suppress the matter. He said both the temple trust and the Central Government must provide a transparent explanation, alleging that the issue was being covered up rather than addressed honestly.

 

Gehlot also said that since Prime Minister Narendra Modi had taken credit for the construction of the Ram Temple and its associated programmes, he should now also accept responsibility and respond to the controversy.

 

He further alleged that the temple trust's treasurer had failed to provide clear answers regarding the issue. Referring to the initial phase of the temple project, Gehlot also recalled earlier allegations surrounding land purchases, including claims that a plot of land valued at Rs 2 crore had been purchased for Rs 18 crore.

 

Calling for structural reforms, Gehlot said a new trust should be constituted with the inclusion of religious saints and spiritual leaders to oversee the management of the Ram Temple. He also urged the Prime Minister to break his silence on the issue and clarify the government's position before the nation.