Nripendra Misra-led panel made Ram Temple decisions: Champat Rai amid donation theft row

Nripendra Misra, who led construction committee, said he has not seen Rai’s letter

Champat Rai, who was forced to step down as the general secretary of the trust that runs the Ayodhya Ram Temple amid allegations of donation irregularities, has written an open letter, saying the Nripendra Misra-led temple construction committee cleared all decisions and made appointments for his assistance.

Champat Rai was forced to step down as the general secretary of the trust that runs the Ayodhya Ram Temple amid allegations of donation irregularities. (PTI/FILE)

He said Misra inducted people of his choice into the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Temple Construction Committee. Rai said one of them came to Ayodhya only twice in six years, and only suggestions related to security were sought from another. Rai said a third member was regular and always attended meetings with Misra. He added that meetings were held monthly and sometimes every 15 days.

Rai stressed that the committee’s authority was absolute. He added that not a single task was executed without the committee’s approval. “If any decision was taken outside, it was not accepted. If something was done, it was removed,” Rai said in the letter that has gone viral and triggered fresh debate over the committee’s functioning.

Rai maintained that Misra projected himself as the sole authority on all construction-related matters, even as he acknowledged the temple is a reality because of him. Rai credited Misra with ensuring the temple was inaugurated after its construction began in 2020 amid the COVID pandemic. “This is solely the result of Nripendra ji’s work,” Rai wrote.

HT reached out to Rai. He confirmed that he wrote the letter.

The letter was written days after a Special Investigation Team (SIT)’s final report into allegations of irregularities in the Ram Temple collections flagged “gross lapses” in the trust’s functioning, but it exonerated him and a former trustee.

Misra dismissed reports about an internal rift within the committee and said he has not seen Rai’s letter. “Until I see the letter, I will only tell you that this is a concocted story of yours [media]. There is no such letter, nor is there any such criticism, even if it were nine pages long. He has not made any such criticism. This is merely a made-up story...”

The Uttar Pradesh government constituted the SIT on June 13. It filed its interim report on July 20. The Supreme Court set up a second SIT on July 20, and that is still probing the case.

The state SIT report criticised the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust and its lack of professional financial management. It questioned the role of the State Bank of India (SBI), which held the trust’s principal account.

But it did not find any proof of allegations of embezzlement against Rai or former trust member Anil Mishra. The two resigned on June 25 in the face of mounting pressure and Opposition criticism.

The SIT named Ram Shankar Yadav, or Tinnu Yadav, a former aide and driver of Rai, as the mastermind behind the alleged diversion of funds. Yadav is one of eight men arrested in connection with the allegations.

The controversy first surfaced on June 7 when Opposition Samajwadi Party leader Tej Narayan ‘Pawan’ Pandey alleged that donations worth ₹5 crore to ₹7.5 crore were siphoned off from temple offerings. On June 13, the state government set up the SIT.

In its interim report, the SIT alleged that a part of the offerings was siphoned off before being deposited into the temple’s designated bank account, leading to the arrest of eight employees associated with handling and counting donations on June 26.

HT reported that six of the eight arrested men were on the payroll of a Varanasi-based security agency that provided manpower to SBI, allegedly at the recommendation of trust members.