The Congress on Thursday accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of remaining silent over the theft of donations collected for the Ram Mandir and asked why he had become "complicit in this sin" through his "tacit consent", news agency Press Trust of India reported.
The opposition party also targeted the BJP, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and Vishva Hindu Parishad with the Hindi line, "BJP, RSS, VHP ka sapna, chande ka maal apna," alleging that the organisations treated donations as their own funds.
In a Hindi post on X, Congress general secretary in charge of communications Jairam Ramesh said, "It is not just the offerings at the Ram Mandir that have been stolen; the thousands of crores of rupees collected as donations from crores of citizens across the country for the construction of the Ram Mandir have also been plundered."
, , — ? , - , , ? :- 1. 18 2021 7:10 - 2 , 7:15 18.5 ? 5 825% ! 2. : ? 3. 2021 5 ? SIT ? , ?— Jairam Ramesh (@Jairam_Ramesh) October 22, 2026
Despite repeated questions from the opposition and allegations against people associated with the BJP, RSS and VHP, no investigation had been conducted and no action taken, Ramesh alleged. "Theft of donations even before the offerings?" he asked.
Ramesh repeated the Congress's questions to the BJP about land deals involving the Ram Mandir Trust. He asked whether it was true that Tiwari and Ansari bought land from Kusum Pathak for Rs 2 crore at 7.10 pm on March 18, 2021, and that the Trust, through Champat Rai, acquired the same land for Rs 18.5 crore five minutes later.
He was apparently referring to Ram Mohan Tiwari and Sultan Ansari, who had reportedly sold the land to the Trust.
"How was an 825% markup, a blatant act of plunder, allowed to happen in just five minutes?" Ramesh asked. He also questioned whether the witnesses to both registration deeds were the same people — the then BJP mayor Rishikesh Upadhyay and trustee Anil Mishra.
Ramesh asked whether it was true that the 2021 investigation report had not been made public even five years later. He also sought to know when the findings of the Special Investigation Team's investigation into the land deals would be released.
"We have a direct question for the Prime Minister: given that this theft of donations took place right under your nose, why did you choose to become complicit in this sin by offering your tacit consent?" Ramesh said, according to PTI.
On Monday, the Congress had questioned the "silence" of PM Modi and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath over the case. It had said citizens were responsible for punishing the "chanda chors blinded by the arrogance of power".
Ramesh had demanded that a full account of the temple offerings be made public, the roles of all those responsible be investigated and no official be spared accountability.
Earlier this month, the Congress alleged that people such as former Ram Temple Trust general secretary Champat Rai were being shielded in the investigation. It also criticised PM Modi's silence, saying that the "arrogance of power is suicidal".
The party had asked why there was a 21-day delay in registering a first information report after a video concerning the stolen amount reached Rai on June 4. It also raised several questions about the SIT investigation and said only an impartial and transparent probe supervised by the Supreme Court could reveal the truth.
The Congress further alleged that PM Modi's silence suggested that the accused "enjoy his protection". Its repeated attacks on the BJP over the alleged theft of Ram temple donations and the land deals come ahead of the Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections early next year.
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