Ram temple donation row: CPI MP urges PM for CAG audit; cites 'betrayal of devotees'

NEW DELHI: CPI Rajya Sabha MP P Sandosh Kumar on Thursday wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking a CAG audit of the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust donations and a judicial inquiry into alleged irregularities, accusing the RSS, VHP and BJP of turning Lord Ram into a political project and betraying the faith of millions of devotees.

In a strongly-worded letter, Kumar alleged that reports of financial irregularities surrounding the trust had "stripped away every remaining pretence" and claimed that devotees had complained that gold jewellery, silver bricks and other valuables offered at the temple remained unaccounted for.

Referring to media reports, the CPI leader said a Special Investigation Team (SIT) had been constituted, criminal cases registered and at least eight persons connected with counting cash and valuable offerings arrested, while the findings of the official inquiry had not yet been made public.

"If these revelations have shaken the conscience of the country, it is because this is not merely an allegation of financial wrongdoing. It is the betrayal of millions of devotees whose offerings were made in faith," Kumar said in the letter.

Seeking the prime minister's intervention, he demanded a Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) audit of every donation received by the trust, including cash, gold, silver and other valuables, from its inception, and asked that the report be placed before the nation.

He also sought an independent judicial inquiry into all alleged criminal activities connected with the temple, its construction and the management of devotees' offerings, asserting that anyone found guilty should be brought to justice irrespective of position or affiliation.

The letter also invokes the Ayodhya movement's political history. Kumar recalled that in September 1989, veteran CPI leader Hiren Mukerjee had written to then BJP leader Atal Bihari Vajpayee, urging him not to politicise the Babri Masjid dispute.

According to Kumar, Vajpayee had replied that he neither supported the demolition of the mosque nor believed India could be seen only as a Hindu Rashtra.

Kumar alleged that history unfolded differently after the demolition of the Babri Masjid, claiming that the RSS, VHP and BJP transformed Lord Ram from "the embodiment of justice, compassion and righteousness" into the centrepiece of a political campaign aimed at polarisation and electoral mobilisation.

"The Sangh Parivar invoked Lord Rama to accumulate political power; now it stands accused of making his temple tainted by greed," he alleged.

Ending the letter with a political appeal, Kumar urged the prime minister to "come clean", saying, "Spare the Temple. Spare Lord Rama. Spare the faith of millions."