Ayodhya Ram Temple Trust Calls Urgent Meeting, Advances July 11 Meet By Five Days Amid Donation Theft Probe

Amid the ongoing probe into the Ayodhya Ram Temple donations theft case, the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust on Tuesday called for an urgent gathering of its members as it has advanced its next meeting to July 6 from the previously scheduled July 11 meet. According to sources, the meeting is likely to discuss key decisions on the fate of its former general secretary Champat Rai and Trust member Anil Mishra as the controversy over alleged donation irregularities is mounting troubles for the Trust. Notably, Rai and Mishra have already resigned and it is speculated that the possibility of their resignations being accepted is very "high".All members of the Trust have been asked to remain available for the meeting, which is likely to focus

on leadership changes. Additionally, measures to strengthen transparency in the management of temple affairs is also likely to be discussed in the meeting.

Emergency Meet: What's Likely To Be Discussed?

Champat Rai, a key functionary of the Trust, submitted his resignation, and Anil Mishra resigned last week. If the resignations of both trustees are accepted, three posts in the Trust will fall vacant. One post has been vacant for almost a year due to the demise of Bimlendra Mohan Pratap Mishra (a member).Trust Chairman Mahant Nrityagopaldas, member K Parasaran, along with some other trustees, are not active due to health and old age. In such a situation, if the Trust is restructured, new names may also be considered in place of these trustees during the meeting, news agency PTI reported citing sources.Meanwhile, if the central government appointed a CEO in the Trust, the by-laws of the Trust will first have to be changed. Legal experts suggest that without changing the Trust's rulebook, a CEO cannot be appointed.Notably, the name of Ram Mandir Construction Committee Chairman Nripendra Mishra was already being discussed for the post of CEO. Retired IAS officer Yogeshwar Ram Mishra's name is also making the rounds for the CEO's post.

Temple Trust On Rai And Mishra’s Resignations

On Saturday, the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust had confirmed that Champat Rai and member Anil Mishra had resigned from their posts, and assured that a fair inquiry would be conducted into allegations related to Ram temple donations.The resignations came against the backdrop of an allegeddonation embezzlement case at the Ram Mandir, which surfaced on June 7. Following a request from the Trust, the Uttar Pradesh government set up a Special Investigation Team (SIT) on June 13.