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New Delhi: Allegations of financial misappropriation of donations made at the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya have sparked growing unease within the saffron camp. The opaque handling of the issue by the trust which manages the temple has only compounded speculation and doubt. At least two persons associated with the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) have sought the intervention of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, while a prominent Hindu seer associated with the temple has even questioned the integrity of the trust members purportedly inquiring into the allegations.

The controversy erupted on June 7 after Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav launched the allegations through X. In response, the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust has only issued one clarification through its general secretary Champat Rai. A senior leader of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad, Rai said that the Trust undergoes periodic internal audits of its works and a similar process was currently on. However, he said,  “nothing noteworthy” had come to light so far.

This clarification has failed to convince both the Opposition and members of the saffron camp.

Rajneesh Singh, a dentist and BJP leader from Ayodhya, has written a letter to Modi demanding that an investigation be conducted by an independent and high-level agency such as the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) or the Enforcement Directorate (ED). Singh also demanded a special audit of the entire process of collection, counting, transportation and depositing of donations in the bank account of the trust.

“The silence of the trust is raising suspicions that some form of malpractice has indeed taken place. There must be a probe,” Singh told The Wire.

A page from the letter sent by Rajneesh Singh, BJP leader, to the Prime Minister seeking an independent probe.

Singh said that while initially he was not sure about the allegations, his doubt got cemented after the public statement made by Kamal Nayan Das, successor to the president of the trust, Mahant Nritya Gopal Das. On Wednesday (June 10), Nayan Das told local media he favoured a probe into the matter and cast aspersions on the members of the trust carrying out the inquiry.

“When the very people conducting the investigation are dishonest, what kind of investigation can there be? They are all dishonest,” Nayan Das said. “Are these people who are making such a hue and cry........

© The Wire