"Direct assault on religious faith": Jairam Ramesh alleges PM silent on Ram Mandir donation row

New Delhi: Congress MP Jairam Ramesh on Tuesday attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi alleging that the PM was silent on the alleged embezzlement of donations at the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya, calling it a "direct assault on the religious faith of crores of people in the country."

His remarks follow a fresh turn in the political row in the case after Uttar Pradesh Congress chief Ajay Rai alleged that he was arrested by the police on Tuesday while heading to offer prayers at the Ram Janmabhoomi temple in Ayodhya with a party delegation.

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Jairam Ramesh, who is the AICC General Secretary in-charge of Communication, further alleged that the trust managing the temple was constituted without due process and kept out of the Right to Information (RTI) Act.

"PM Modi's silence on the looting in Shri Ram Mandir is a direct assault on the religious faith of crores of people in the country. The Modi government formed the trust without any transparent criteria or public consultation, including RSS members in it. Then the entire trust was also kept out of RTI. Modi ji, break your silence," Ramesh said on X.

Earlier, Ajay Rai termed the Uttar Pradesh government "chadhava chor" (offering thieves) in an X post. Rai claimed that the police arrested him at his hotel as soon as he arrived in Ayodhya. Condemning the incident, the Congress leader called it the "peak" of the BJP's dictatorship.

"The dictatorship of the BJP government is at its peak! A delegation from the Uttar Pradesh Congress was scheduled to visit Ayodhya today, June 30th, to offer prayers and seek the blessings of Lord Shri Ram. As soon as I arrived in Ayodhya, the BJP government panicked so much that the police arrested me from my hotel and are taking me away in their jeep. Why are these 'offering thieves'--who are involved in land scams and the theft of donations in Ayodhya--so afraid of Ram devotees coming here? This cowardly attempt to guard faith by those who run shops in the name of the Lord is highly condemnable. We will neither stop nor bow down!" Rai said.

Meanwhile, the state Congress has also alleged that the party's Pratapgarh district president, Neeraj Tripathi, who was accompanying Rai to Ayodhya, was also detained by the police. The party added that stopping devotees from worshipping Lord Ram is "unconstitutional" and demanded the immediate release of all Congress leaders.

On Monday, a local court in Ayodhya remanded all eight accused in the alleged donation scam to 14 days of judicial custody. The court's decision follows a high-intensity investigation by the Uttar Pradesh Police into reports of financial irregularities and the misappropriation of funds and offerings at the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi temple.

Meanwhile, Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Trust General Secretary Champat Rai and member trustee Anil Mishra resigned on Friday, taking moral responsibility for the alleged embezzlement of Ram Mandir donations. Following this, Rai's statement was recorded by police here as part of the ongoing investigation into the alleged embezzlement of temple donations, sources said on Monday.

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It came after a First Information Report (FIR) was registered on June 25 in connection with the alleged embezzlement of donations received at the Ram Temple in Ayodhya.

The case has triggered a massive political slugfest in Uttar Pradesh, with the ruling BJP and Opposition parties trading allegations over the handling of the temple's finances, even as the Special Investigation Team (SIT) probe continues.