NEW DELHI: Amid the controversy over alleged embezzlement of donations at the Ram temple, the Congress has claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s “silence” on the purported “loot” amounts to a “direct assault” on the faith of crores of people.The party stated that a delegation was scheduled to visit Ayodhya on Tuesday to offer prayers, but Uttar Pradesh Congress chief Ajai Rai was allegedly “arrested” by the police, news agency PTI reported.Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh stated, “PM Modi’s silence regarding the looting at the Shri Ram Temple is a direct assault on the religious faith of crores of people across the country”.Ramesh further remarked, “The Modi government constituted the (Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra) Trust without any transparent criteria or public consultation and appointed RSS members to it. Subsequently, the entire trust was exempted from the ambit of the RTI Act. Modi ji, break your silence”.These remarks followed a post by Rai around midnight, in which he claimed that soon after arriving in Ayodhya, the BJP government, “gripped by fear,” had the police “arrest” him from his hotel, PTI reported.Rai wrote on X, “The BJP government’s authoritarianism has reached its peak! A delegation from the Uttar Pradesh Congress was scheduled to visit Ayodhya tomorrow, June 30, to offer prayers… I had barely arrived in Ayodhya when the BJP government, gripped by fear, had the police arrest me at my hotel and is taking me away in a jeep”.The Congress has demanded a Supreme Court-monitored probe and the dissolution of the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust.Meanwhile, the Faizabad Bar Association announced on Monday that none of its members would represent the eight accused and stated it would move court seeking a CBI investigation.In the Supreme Court, Justices MM Sundresh and Sheel Nagu declined an urgent hearing on pleas related to the donation irregularities, stating the matter would be listed after the summer break on July 13.The BJP described the lawyers’ boycott as a “powerful message from Hindu society,” adding that those accused of looting in Ayodhya are facing both legal action and social boycott.Previously, on June 13, the Uttar Pradesh government constituted a Special Investigation Team (SIT) following allegations of misappropriation.Based on the SIT report, eight individuals, namely Avinash Shukla, Anukalp Mishra, Lav Kush Mishra, Manish Kumar Yadav, Karunesh Pandey, Ram Shankar Mishra, Subhash Srivastava, and Ramashankar alias Tinnu Yadav, were arrested.(With agency inputs)
