Thiruvananthapuram, July 13 (IANS) Alleging that a broad daylight robbery had taken place in the name of the Ayodhya Ram Temple, AICC Media and Publicity Department Chairman, Pawan Khera, on Monday demanded a Supreme Court-monitored probe into the alleged misappropriation of donations and financial irregularities linked to the temple trust.
At the KPCC headquarters here, Khera alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had constituted the Ram Temple Trust and that while the Prime Minister and the RSS had proudly claimed credit for the temple's construction, they had now fallen silent after allegations of corruption surfaced.
"Whom are they trying to protect? Who will answer these serious allegations?" he asked.
Khera claimed that Larsen & Toubro (L&T) had offered to construct the temple free of cost, but the proposal was rejected and the temple was instead built at a cost of Rs 2,100 crore.
He further alleged that crores of rupees had been shown as expenditure for constructing a cow shelter, although no such facility existed at the temple.
According to Khera, the RSS and the BJP had collected crores of rupees over the past four decades in the name of constructing the Ram Temple but had failed to provide any proper accounting.
"They have deceived devotees across the country," he said, while also questioning the source of funds used to build the RSS and BJP headquarters in Delhi.
Quoting Swami Avimukteshwaranand and several Shankaracharyas, Khera alleged that the Ayodhya Ram Temple had become an RSS fundraising centre and said this was the reason why some seers had chosen not to visit the temple.
Demanding a thorough investigation, Khera said the Special Investigation Team (SIT) presently constituted did not inspire public confidence.
He called for a probe by a sitting Supreme Court judge, supported by digital and forensic examination of donations and land transactions linked to the temple.
He also questioned the whereabouts of 200 kilograms of silver donated to the temple.
Khera further demanded that the existing Trust be dissolved, alleging that it had been packed with RSS members.
He said a new Trust comprising devotees and the Shankaracharyas should be constituted to manage the temple.
Commenting on Kerala, Khera said the State now had a new government with political will.
Responding to the BJP's criticism over Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi not visiting the Wayanad disaster site, he said the BJP would have criticised her even if she had visited, accusing her of disrupting rescue operations. --IANS
