Champat Rai should be arrested; PM must apologise to nation: Congress on Ram Temple row

New Delhi, Jul 8 (PTI) Amid the raging row over the alleged embezzlement of donations at the Ram Temple in Ayodhya, the Congress on Wednesday demanded the immediate arrest of former temple trust general secretary Champat Rai and sought Prime Minister Narendra Modi's apology for his "mistake in selecting" the trust's members. Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh said the prime minister was at the forefront when it came to taking credit for the Ram Temple and asked why was he now "shying away" from taking responsibility for the "theft of donations". "The Congress demands: Dissolve the trust; arrest the real culprits; conduct an investigation under Supreme Court supervision; form a new trust; apologise to the nation. Modi ji, break your silence," Ramesh said in a post in Hindi on X. Addressing a press conference here, senior party leader and former MP Shaktisinh Gohil reiterated the demand for a Supreme Court-monitored investigation into the entire matter. "The Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust should be immediately dissolved and replaced by a new trust; the composition of this new trust should be decided collectively by the Shankaracharyas, a retired Supreme Court judge, representatives of the Nirmohi Akhara, and various seers and saints," Gohil said. He said Modi ought to apologise to the people of the country for his "mistake" of inducting individuals such as Champat Rai, instead of seers and saints, into the trust. "Before the issue of the theft of donations from the Ram Temple came to light, daily collections amounted to Rs 16-18 lakh; however, after the matter became public, this figure rose to Rs 24-26 lakh per day," he claimed and added that this raises suspicions that approximately Rs 10 lakh was being misappropriated daily prior to this. The Congress leader claimed that while crores of people across the country had devoutly contributed donations for the construction of Lord Ram's temple, the trust failed to keep proper account of these funds public. He emphasised that the Ram Temple is a focal point of faith for crores of people, and any alleged financial irregularity concerning it cannot be tolerated. "In the Sanatan tradition, the views of the Shankaracharyas hold special significance; they had raised objections regarding the auspicious timing (muhurat) for the consecration ceremony (Pran Pratishtha), yet the Bharatiya Janata Party disregarded their counsel for the sake of electoral gain," Gohil said. He alleged that the BJP has consistently sought to derive political mileage in the name of Lord Ram. The opposition party's attack came after the temple trust on Monday accepted the resignations of Rai as its general secretary and member Anil Mishra in the wake of the donation theft row. Trustee Krishna Mohan has been named as interim general secretary. Promising to overhaul the donation system and restore the faith of devotees, the trust also announced the formation of a three-member search committee to identify a chief executive officer (CEO) for the temple trust. The Congress had said that by accepting the resignations of Rai and Mishra, the trust has effectively accepted that the "chanda chori" reports were true. PTI ASK RHL