The acceptance of resignations of two prominent members of the Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust, the constitution of a three-member panel to find a chief executive officer for the body, and the listing of valuables donated by devotees marks the beginning of a public process of accountability. It must follow concrete steps towards transparency, an establishment of processes and publication of audit reports, and accountability fixed for the lapses that led to the irregularities in donation collections for the Ram
The acceptance of resignations of two prominent members of the Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust, the constitution of a three-member panel to find a chief executive officer for the body, and the listing of valuables donated by devotees marks the beginning of a public process of accountability. It must follow concrete steps towards transparency, an establishment of processes and publication of audit reports, and accountability fixed for the lapses that led to the irregularities in donation collections for the Ram Temple.
This newspaper has commented before that the allegations of embezzlement of donation money is not just serious but strikes at the heart of the faith of millions of people. For the Trust, winning back the trust of the ordinary devotee should be top priority. In this process, going after just small fry — eight men have, so far, been arrested but most of them were lower-rung workers and drew salaries of around ₹20,000 a month — while keeping the trustees out of the loop of accountability is wrong. What was the treasurer doing? Why weren’t audit reports made public? Why was there opacity around the Trust’s functioning? Who allowed for standard operating procedures to be flouted? The special investigation team’s report makes it clear that lacunae in processes, negligence and a disregard for protocol was responsible for creating the conditions that led to the alleged irregularities. While it is for a court to establish guilt, prosecuting agencies should not rest easy without taking the investigation to its logical conclusion. Both social media rumour mongering and political blame-game should be an anathema in this quest for transparency and justice. The administration should consider putting all facts in the public domain. The Trust must realise the need for complete overhaul.
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