Ram Mandir donation row: How Samajwadi Party leader's post ballooned into raging controversy

TWo years after the consecration of the ram down Temple became an ideologic and political milepost for the Bharatiya Janata company, allegations of irregularities in donations feature spiralled into a serious controversy.The controversy surfaced on June 7 when Samajwadi Party leader Pawan Pandey alleged that donations worth ₹5 crore to ₹7.5 crore were siphoned off from temple offerings. On the same day, the trust rejected the allegations. Champat Rai asserted that every rupee donated by devotees was properly accounted for and audited.Later on June 7, SP president Akhilesh Yadav demanded an independent inquiry, saying faith demanded transparency. Uttar Pradesh Congress chief Ajay Rai and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh started demanding accountability, arguing that the issue involved public trust rather than partisan politics. On June 25, the AAP MP appeared before the special investigation team (SIT) to present the evidence. On June 12, Ayodhya BJP leader Rajneesh Singh sought a CBI investigation and wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The Prime Minister’s Office has also sought a factual report from the temple trust , according to an official letter, dated June 23.On June 25, Vishwa Hindu Parishad international working president Alok Kumar demanded registration of an FIR if evidence established theft, and later called for the investigation to cover everyone involved.On June 19, chief minister Yogi Adityanath personally stepped in, declared that “no guilty person will be spared”. The CM’s remarks came after, on June 13, he ordered the constitution of a three-member SIT comprising Lucknow Divisional Commissioner Vijay Vishwas Pant, IG Kiran S and Special Secretary (Finance) Neel Ratan.Between June 15 and 20, investigators questioned trust officials, administrators, outsourced employees, security personnel, cash-counting staff and State Bank of India officials handling donations.They scrutinised recruitment procedures, CCTV systems, movement of valuables and accounting practices relating to cash, gold and silver offerings.People aware of developments said nearly 150 persons were identified for scrutiny, around two dozen came under detailed examination and recoveries of cash and precious metals were made during the investigation. The SIT also found that CCTV footage was available for about 45 days, as per the FIR, filed on Thursday.On June 23, the SIT submitted its preliminary report, advised registration of a criminal case and suggested structural reforms in the management of temple donations. On June 25, temple Trust member Krishna Mohan lodged a police complaint, following which the FIR was filed and eight people were arrested.In 2021, Opposition parties had questioned transactions involving land acquired around the temple. That controversy, however, remained confined largely to political allegations and denials. But in this case, the investigation was ordered by the BJP government, an FIR has been lodged, arrests have followed, and the probe continues to widen.