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EYE ON INDIA JULY 03, 2026 | The Indian Eye 6

Ram Temple Donation Row Erupts

into Major Political Storm

Allegations of missing donations at Ayodhya’s Ram Temple have triggered investigations, court petitions

and a fierce political battle ahead of key electoral contests

OUR BUREAU the FIR and said all accused individ-
uals should be investigated without
Ayodhya / Lucknow / New Delhi
favour or protection.
he Shri Ram Janmabhoomi “Everyone involved, or those
Temple in Ayodhya, one of accused, should be investigated. No
Tmodern India’s most signifi- one should be shielded, no one fa-
cant religious and political symbols, vored, and no one should be under
has become the centre of a growing pressure,” Kumar said.
controversy after allegations sur- At the same time, Kumar ac-
faced that crores of rupees in dona- cused opposition parties of exploit-
tions were misappropriated. What ing the controversy for electoral gain
began as a financial irregularity ahead of the 2027 Uttar Pradesh As-
probe has rapidly escalated into a sembly elections.
national political confrontation in- “They are running their 2027
volving opposition parties, religious Uttar Pradesh Assembly election
organisations, the Uttar Pradesh campaign,” Kumar said, arguing that
government and even the Supreme political parties which had historical-
Court. ly opposed the Ram Temple move-
ment were now presenting them-
The controversy stems from al- The controversy stems from allegations made by former Samajwadi Party MLA Pawan Pandey, selves as defenders of Lord Ram.
The political battle has high-
legations made by former Sama- who claimed that between Rs 7 crore and Rs 7.5 crore in donations received at the Ram lighted the unique position the Ram
Temple had been misappropriated (ANI file photo)
jwadi Party MLA Pawan Pandey, Temple occupies in Indian public
life. The temple is not merely a place
who claimed that between Rs 7 duism’s holiest sites. the creation of a Central Bureau of of worship; it is the culmination
Among the most vocal critics
crore and Rs 7.5 crore in dona- has been Aam Aadmi Party lead- Investigation-led Special Investiga- of a decades-long movement that
shaped national politics and helped
tion Team to probe alleged financial
tions received at the Ram Tem- er Arvind Kejriwal. During a visit irregularities, mismanagement and redefine electoral alignments across
ple had been misappropriated. to Lucknow, he dismissed the SIT other concerns relating to the tem- northern India.
investigation as ineffective and ac- ple trust. That sensitivity is evident in the
cused authorities of attempting to AAP MP Sanjay Singh has also reactions of religious leaders. Acha-
Following the allegations, the
Uttar Pradesh government consti- shield influential individuals. entered the fray, claiming he pos- rya Himanshu Maharaj of Hindu
“This SIT has no power to inves-
Dham in Ayodhya warned politi-
sesses evidence relating to an alleged
tuted a three-member Special In- tigate, so this SIT is just a fraud in the land scam involving properties ac- cians against turning the controver-
vestigation Team (SIT) on June 14 eyes of the people. It is a cover-up of quired by the trust. He has promised sy into a partisan issue. “The Ram
to probe the matter after a request the entire matter, and the SIT’s only to present documents to investiga- Temple is not a subject of politics; it
from the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi job is to protect influential people,” tors and questioned why action had is a subject of spirituality. If you play
Mandir Trust. Kejriwal said. not been taken earlier. politics over the Ram Temple, you
The issue took a dramatic turn
Kejriwal further intensified the
In a letter to investigators, Singh
this week when a First Information controversy by questioning reports alleged that several land purchas- will fall into a pit,” he said.
The Acharya defended the Ut-
Report (FIR) was officially regis- that the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi es were made at prices significantly tar Pradesh government’s handling
tered under multiple provisions of Teerth Kshetra Trust had allegedly above their market values and ac- of the investigation and urged pa-
the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. Sev- declined to provide financial details cused trust officials of corruption. tience until the probe is completed.
eral individuals, including Anukalp sought through official channels. However, not everyone agrees At the same time, he stressed that
Mishra, Lavkush Mishra, Avinash He suggested that the affair raised with the opposition’s interpretation anyone found guilty should face pun-
Shukla, Tinnu Yadav and Manish larger questions about who exercises of events. ishment, including imprisonment.
Yadav, were named in the case. influence over the temple trust and The Vishva Hindu Parishad With court proceedings, police
While the filing of the FIR ap-
peared to indicate that authorities whether a more powerful investiga- (VHP), which played a central role investigations and political accusa-
tions all unfolding simultaneously,
tion was needed.
in the Ram Janmabhoomi move-
were moving forward with the in- The opposition’s demands have ment, has called for a thorough in- a controversy that began with ques-
vestigation, political leaders quickly gone beyond the donation contro- vestigation but rejected attempts to tions about temple donations has
seized on the controversy, trans- versy. A fresh petition has been turn the issue into a political weapon. evolved into one of the most sensi-
forming it into a broader debate filed in the Supreme Court seeking VHP International President tive political storms in contempo-
about accountability, transparency a court-monitored investigation and Alok Kumar welcomed the filing of rary India.
and the management of one of Hin-

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