Digvijaya Singh's padayatra against Ram Temple funds theft not a Congress event: Chaudhary

Indore, Jul 10 (PTI) Congress central leadership on Friday sought to distance itself from senior leader Digvijaya Singh's proposed padayatra on the issue of alleged theft of offerings at the Ram Temple in Ayodhya, saying it is not a party programme, but a personal and non-political event. Congress general secretary in-charge of Madhya Pradesh Harish Chaudhary maintained it was up to Singh to explain the objective of his foot march. Talking to reporters in Indore, he also demanded a Supreme Court-monitored investigation into the alleged misappropriation of offerings at the Ram Temple, which is being probed by a special investigation team (SIT) of the Uttar Pradesh police. Singh (79) recently announced that he would begin a nearly 1,000-kilometer padayatra from Ujjain's Mahakaleshwar Temple to Ayodhya on Dussehra (October 20). Asked whether the former Rajya Sabha MP had obtained permission from the party leadership for this padayatra, Chaudhary replied, "This is not a Congress yatra. Singh himself has stated that this is his personal and non-political journey. In such a situation, he has every right to decide for what purpose he will undertake this yatra." Queried whether he himself will join Singh's 1,000-km padayatra, Chaudhary avoided a direct answer, saying how could he tell today whether he would be able to attend people's private events in the next one year. "Due to political commitments, I am unable to attend private events of even my friends, acquaintances, and even family," claimed the Congress general secretary. Alleging large-scale misappropriation of donations to the Ram Temple, Chaudhary targeted the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), saying this act betrayed the faith of millions of devotees. He demanded that the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust, which administers the Ayodhya shrine, be dissolved with immediate effect and replaced by a new, transparent trust represented by religious leaders, administrative experts, and prominent citizens. Responding to a question, Chaudhary asserted statements made by state Congress president Jitu Patwari regarding the alleged land scam in Ujjain are the party's "official stand". Chaudhary described Singh's press conference in Ujjain a few days ago as the former Chief Minister's "private conversation" with the media. He said the name of the Congress candidate for the Datia Assembly by-election, scheduled for July 30, will be announced soon. PTI HWP MAS RSY