New Delhi, June 26: Upping the ante against the BJP-led government at the Centre, the Congress on Friday cornered the ruling party over thenissue of donation embezzlement in Ayodhya’s Ram temple trust, involving amounts running into hundreds or even thousands of crores of rupees and demanded a Supreme Court monitored probe while urging the Chief Justice of India to order suo moto probe into the same.
Addressing a press conference here at the old party headquarters, senior party leader Rajeev Suhkla urged the Chief Justice of India to take suo moto cognizance of the matter and order a probe.
He also demanded that Prime Minister Narendra Modi personally intervene in the matter and ensure that the guilty are punished.
He said that the Congress did not want to politicise the issue, and that is the reason the party had not commented on it earlier.
Shukla, who is also a Rajya Sabha MP said, since the registration of an FIR indicates that the government has now admitted that massive bunglings and embezzlement have taken place, and it is the duty of the Congress to ensure that the matter is probed, the truth is established and the guilty are punished.
The Congress leader maintained that so far, only the junior-level employees have been arrested. He noted that given the scale of the theft, with estimates ranging from hundreds to thousands of crores, it is impossible that the higher ups were not involved in the embezzlement.
Taking a dig at the BJP, which is in power in Uttar Pradesh and controls the temple trust, Shukla remarked, “Earlier they sought votes in the name of Lord Ram; and now they are looting notes (money) in Lord Ram’s name”.
Referring to the BJP’s slogan “Jo Ram ko laaye hain, hum unko laayenge”, he asked what should be done with those “who have now looted Lord Ram”.
Shukla demanded disbanding of the existing trust that is managing the Ram Mandir and said that no politician should be allowed to be a member in the trust. He said, the politicians have no business to be in the temple trusts.
Shukla said the BJP had a clear aim to hijack and take control of temple trusts, divert donations, and use them for political purposes.
“This will not be accepted by the people of India”, he warned, reiterating that the real culprits must be punished. He said, it is impossible that only the junior-level employees were involved in such large-scale loot without the knowledge and consent of the senior trust officials.