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UP Cong vows to take Ram Temple donation case to villages

UP Congress to campaign on Lord Ram Temple donation theft, questioning BJP's loyalty and transparency, alleging key figures evaded accountability.

Updated on: Aug 20, 2026, 21:04:26 IST
By , LUCKNOW
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The Uttar Pradesh Congress on Thursday announced to take the Lord Ram Temple donation theft case across villages in state under a campaign “Jo Ram ke na huye wo aap ke kya honge” (Those who could not be loyal to Lord Ram, how will they ever be loyal to you), even as the BJP tries to corner the Congress over Vande Mataram.

Rajendra Pal Gautam, in-charge UP Congress, Ajay Rai, president, Uttar Pradesh Congress and others address the media in Lucknow on Thursday. (HT Photo)
Rajendra Pal Gautam, in-charge UP Congress, Ajay Rai, president, Uttar Pradesh Congress and others address the media in Lucknow on Thursday. (HT Photo)

“The Prime Minister took credit for everything done in Ayodhya’s temple then why is he not taking credit for the donation theft. We will run a campaign across all villages and let people know the entire truth,” said Rajendra Pal Gautam, in-charge UP Congress.

Addressing a press conference, Ajay Rai, president Uttar Pradesh Congress said, “Within a week our campaign will be ready. Teams will visit villages and let people know how RSS people took away money that they had donated from their savings, including cash and gold.

“The trust was to be made as per directives of the Supreme Court but it was made on the directions of the Prime Minister putting BJP, RSS, VHP people in it. Those who had knowledge were not made part of the temple,” said Rai.

“The Supreme Court directed the SIT to submit its progress report/status report in a sealed envelope. So how did confidential information related to the SIT’s investigation surface in the media? According to media reports, the SIT’s final report has given a clean chit to Champat Rai and Anil Mishra. If the government stands by this conclusion, why is the full SIT report and the basis for the clean chit not being made public,” said Gautam.

Only junior staff were arrested, but those who had institutional responsibility for donations, including precious metals, their maintenance, and the overall oversight of the accounting, haven’t been punished, said Rai, demanding that the state government clarify the current legal status of the case.

UP Youth Congress vice-president and Ayodhya resident Sharad Shukla, while showing a copy of the SIT report, said, “The SIT report that led to the arrests also found Anil Mishra guilty. The SIT report clearly states that Anil Mishra was negligent in his duties, which led to the occurrence of the theft and embezzlement. The team also acknowledged that Anil Mishra’s responsibility appears to be at a senior supervisory level. Then why was Anil Mishra not arrested.”

Newly appointed secretaries of the All India Congress Committee-Co-incharge of Uttar Pradesh, Abhishek Dutt, Sanjeev Arya, Abdul Hannan, Kunal Chaudhary, Jagdish Chandra Jangid and Varun Chaudhary along with media chairman CP Rai, spokesperson Dr Uma Shankar Pandey, Anshu Awasthi, Priyanka Gupta, Sachin Rawat were present.