The Ram Mandir donation theft row has sparked a massive controversy, roughly eight months ahead of Uttar Pradesh assembly election.
The Ayodhya police is likely to seek an Enforcement Directorate (ED) probe
into the alleged misappropriation of funds at the temple, sources have said. They added that multiple raids conducted by investigating agencies have led to the recovery of around Rs 62 lakh allegedly linked to the suspected diversion of temple donations. Two office bearers, including then general secretary Champat Rai, have resigned on ‘moral grounds’.
At such a sensitive time, when the Opposition is trying to raise the political heat over the controversy, BJP national president Nitin Nabin will be on a two-day tour of the state, where he will camp with general secretary (organisation) BL Santhosh to discuss ‘Mission UP’. Both the leaders are slated to be in UP from July 3-4 where they will hold multiple closed-door strategy meetings.
The new Uttar Pradesh BJP state team was announced on June 25 by state BJP president Pankaj Chaudhary. This will be Nabin’s first visit to Lucknow after taking charge as BJP’s national president. He will meet chief minister Yogi Adityanath, senior office bearers in Chaudhary’s new team, and select ministers.
Does the high-profile visit mean the BJP is concerned about Ram Mandir donation politics spilling over to the election season? The party disagrees.
“The tour of the BJP national president is scheduled well in advance. He was in Punjab and Uttarakhand recently. He spent a considerable time in Telangana as well to set a goal. Lucknow was prescheduled. It is coincidental that the Opposition has gone up in arms exactly around this time over the Ram Mandir donation issue, which is being probed with transparency,” said an Uttar Pradesh-based BJP leader.
The alleged irregularities in donations to the Ram Mandir have become a rallying point for the Opposition, which has accused the BJP of failing to ensure transparency in the management of devotees’ contributions. Congress leaders have staged protests across Uttar Pradesh, with state Congress chief Ajay Rai alleging he was placed under house arrest to prevent him from leading demonstrations. Samajwadi Party Chief Akhilesh Yadav called the alleged embezzlement an “insult to Sanatan Dharma”.
However, BJP sources suggest that both Nabin and Santhosh would rather focus on ‘Mission UP’ in their huddle with the office bearers.
In the 2022 Uttar Pradesh Legislative assembly election, the Bharatiya Janata Party won 255 seats, down from 312 seats in the 2017 polls. Sources tell News18 that in this trip, the two leaders are likely to primarily task the new UP team under Chaudhary to work on the 57 assembly seats BJP lost in 2022 compared to 2017.
