There have been strict legal notices issued to the management of the popular Ram Temple at Ayodhya. In particular, on Thursday, RJD MP from Bihar, Sudhakar Singh, filed a legal notice to the temple administration through Supreme Court Advocate Satyam Singh Rajput, compelling complete financial transparency about all donations and land expenses in the past five Financial Years.
This legal notice, which directly aims at the decision-making committee of the temple, has been sent to Trust President Mahant Nritya Gopal Das, General Secretary Champat Rai, and Treasurer Swami Govind Dev Giri.
3-Days time to make itemised logs available
The legal notice compels an immediate itemisation within 3-days after receipt of the notice, of all funds coming in and going out of the temple trust since Financial Year 2021-22 to 2025-26.
Specifically, the petition calls for the following information regarding the financial management of the temple:
- Statutory reports: The audit report of balance sheets, income-expenditure data, and internal audits.
- Banks and foreign donations: Transaction details of all bank accounts and accounting of foreign contributions collected under FCRA.
- Land acquisition ledger: Comprehensive record of all the lands purchased in the name of the Temple Trust in Ayodhya.
Rising accusations of theft and missing money
The political pressure follows the bombshell allegations made by the former SP MLA from Ayodhya, Pawan Pandey, who accused the management of the Ayodhya temple of theft of anywhere between ₹7 crore and ₹7.5 crore worth of donations in cash from the temple collection rooms.
Despite the staunch denial by the Trust General Secretary Champat Rai that all these allegations are baseless and totally false rumours, leaders of the opposition have already started coordinating a political attack on this issue.
Opposition seeks CCTV footage of cash counting room; Sanjay Raut planning visit to Ayodhya
This development has ignited a fierce political battle between the ruling BJP and the opposition party leaders. The chief of the SP, Akhilesh Yadav, also plunged into the controversy and criticised the government for their continued silence on the issue of tracking the assets. Yadav has filed a PIL to ask the court to take action in this regard, along with a demand for disclosure of the CCTV footage in which the money counting was done.
Taking their criticism a notch higher, Sanjay Raut, an MP of the Shiv Sena (UBT) alleged institutional corruption among other vices against the ruling government, claiming that the theft of crores of rupees was being caught on camera.
“The way a dacoity involving over Rs 5 crore was committed against the Ram Mandir’s offerings, it is clearly visible in the CCTV footage,” Raut stated to reporters. “If Rs 5 crore from the offerings made to Ram are stolen, your government, both in UP and at the Centre, is responsible. You steal EVMs, votes, seats, and you even steal from the offerings made to Ram; theft is everywhere with you.”
Raut also stated that he had entered into discussions with party leader Uddhav Thackeray regarding sending a delegation to Ayodhya to address the matter.
