The row over alleged theft of donations at the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya turned sharper on Wednesday, with the Congress demanding that every financial record of the temple be made public and the investigation widened to cover everyone involved in running it. Senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh fired the fresh salvo in a long post on X, a day after the case returned to the headlines ahead of the 2027 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections.
Ramesh accused the BJP, the RSS and the Vishva Hindu Parishad of trying to wash their hands of a scandal in a temple they themselves managed. His charge, in short, is that the same organisations that controlled the trust, the construction, the counting of offerings and the deposit of money in banks cannot now claim the theft was someone else’s doing.
“Stolen donations, betrayed faith. At Ayodhya’s Shri Ram Temple, from the trust to construction, donations, counting offerings and depositing them in the bank, BJP, RSS and VHP members were in charge at every level. They cannot now shirk responsibility for the theft of offerings,” Ramesh wrote.
What the chargesheet says
At the centre of the case is a chargesheet filed by a Special Investigation Team (SIT). It alleges that accused Avinash Shukla removed donation money on 85 occasions during the counting process. The chargesheet names eight accused in all: Avinash Shukla, Anukalp Mishra, Lavkush Mishra, Manish Kumar Yadav, Karunesh Pandey, Rama Shankar Mishra, Subhash Srivastava and Rama Shankar, also known as Tinnu.
The SIT has reportedly also held Shukla responsible for handing over the keys of donation boxes to unauthorised people. The Congress insists accountability cannot stop with these eight names, and wants the probe to reach every person who handled the temple’s construction, administration and donation management, under the supervision of the Supreme Court.
What Ramesh alleged today
Ramesh’s post went beyond the chargesheet. He alleged that officials in the construction and accounts departments had flagged irregularities earlier, and questioned the role of Ram Mandir Trust members Champat Rai, Anil Mishra and Gopal Rao.
He pointed to former accounts officer Mahipal Singh, who, according to Ramesh, detected irregularities in the handling of donations as early as 2021. Singh had reportedly informed Champat Rai and Gopal Rao about the suspected theft, but was removed from his post instead of action being taken against those responsible, Ramesh alleged.
The Congress leader also cited Deenanath Verma, the engineer overseeing construction, who reportedly claimed that a 40 per cent commission was demanded for work at the trust office. Ramesh asked whether Champat Rai had been directly questioned over the allegations, and why certain trust officials were named as witnesses in the chargesheet rather than as accused.
He further alleged that some of the accused had links with the RSS and the Bajrang Dal, citing media reports about the associations of Anukalp Mishra, Subhash Srivastava and Tinnu Yadav with members of the temple management. He also questioned the recruitment process for staff who count donations, alleging that while advertisements were issued and selection committees formed for recruiting priests, no similar process was followed for employees handling the temple’s offerings.
The 2021 red flags
One of the sharpest parts of Ramesh’s attack concerns what he says happened when the first warnings surfaced. If irregularities were indeed flagged in 2021, as he claims, the question he wants answered is why the matter stayed quiet and why the official who raised it lost his job.
He also questioned the Uttar Pradesh government’s handling of the investigation, asking why the first SIT report was reportedly handed over to the trust itself, when its officials were facing allegations. He demanded that the report be made public and asked why the probe had not examined the alleged links of all those involved.
Why it matters now
The timing is hard to miss. With Uttar Pradesh due to vote in 2027, the temple that has defined the BJP’s politics in the state is now the subject of a corruption allegation the opposition is determined to keep alive. Ramesh framed the demand in exactly those terms, saying the country must be given a full accounting of donations and offerings received in the name of Lord Ram.
“The Congress demands that all financial records be made public, the scope of the investigation be expanded, and every person found guilty be dealt with according to the law. The country must be given a full accounting of the donations and offerings received in the name of Lord Shri Ram. No position, political access or organisational protection can shield anyone from accountability,” his post read.
He also turned to the origins of the trust itself, noting that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had announced the formation of the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust in the Lok Sabha on February 5, 2020, and alleging that the selection criteria and deliberations behind its formation had never been made public.
Neither the BJP nor the trust had responded to the latest charges at the time of publication. The case now rests on two questions: what the investigation uncovers next, and whether the demand for a public accounting of the temple’s finances gains ground beyond the political argument.
FAQs
What is the Ram Mandir donation case about?
The SIT has filed a chargesheet alleging that donation money was removed during the counting process at the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya. The main accused, Avinash Shukla, is alleged to have taken money on 85 occasions.
How many people are accused in the case?
Eight people are named in the chargesheet: Avinash Shukla, Anukalp Mishra, Lavkush Mishra, Manish Kumar Yadav, Karunesh Pandey, Rama Shankar Mishra, Subhash Srivastava and Rama Shankar, also known as Tinnu.
What has the Congress demanded?
The Congress wants all financial records of the temple made public, the scope of the investigation expanded, and a Supreme Court-supervised probe covering everyone responsible for the temple’s construction, administration and donation management.
What did Jairam Ramesh allege about the 2021 warnings?
Ramesh alleged that former accounts officer Mahipal Singh detected irregularities as early as 2021, informed trust members Champat Rai and Gopal Rao, and was removed instead of action being taken against those responsible.
Why is the case politically significant?
The Ram Mandir is central to the BJP’s politics in Uttar Pradesh, which votes in Assembly elections in 2027. The opposition is using the donation case to question the management of the temple and the trust that runs it.
The allegations in this article are as reported in the SIT chargesheet and in statements by the Congress. The accused are presumed innocent until proven guilty, and the case remains under investigation.
