New Delhi: The Congress’ intensive campaign against the alleged Ram Mandir donation theft is set to be rolled out in Uttar Pradesh next month after the party’s organisation reshuffle is completed, people familiar with the matter said.
The campaign will be launched in phases to maintain the momentum till the elections which are due next year, the people said.
Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi had blamed the Narendra Modi government for the alleged “chanda chori” as he argued that all members of the temple trust have been handpicked by the government.
Congress general secretary for organization KC Venugopal had announced the campaign in the last Congress Working Committee meeting on August 19. “This is not a theft at Ram Mandir alone but ghar ghar ‘chanda chori’ as millions of Indians have donated for Ram Mandir,” he said.
According to Congress’ Uttar Pradesh in-chargeRajendra Pal Gautam, “We regularly raise the ‘chanda chori’ issue in our public meetings. But we are waiting for the sangathan srijan (organisational reshuffle) to be over in the state. Then, we will have a dedicated set up starting from the district level to lead the campaign. It is an important part of our poll campaign in UP this year.”
Gautam added that the ‘sangathan srijan’ is set to be over by this month and that the party is are planning a state-wide launch in October. “We will continue our programmes on ‘chanda chori’ till the run up to the elections,” he added.
{{/usCountry}}Gautam added that the ‘sangathan srijan’ is set to be over by this month and that the party is are planning a state-wide launch in October. “We will continue our programmes on ‘chanda chori’ till the run up to the elections,” he added.
{{/usCountry}}Manindra Nath Thakur, an Associate Professor at the Centre for Political Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, said the Ram Temple donations issue is not fully exhausted but doubted if it can work in UP.
“There is a deep discontent against the central government but according to my reports, the UP government is doing well. Chanda chori is one of the big issues and I believe it has not fully exhausted. If the Congress can take the issue to the public, it can create a buzz. People have emotionally invested in Ram Temple,” said Thakur.
“But I doubt how well the Congress can use this issue. I don’t think they have invested enough for organization reshuffle and I don’t think they have enough manpower to campaign across the states. Also, the issue might be more appropriate for the Lok Sabha elections as the Congress party is trying to blame the Modi government. But it’s too early to start campaign for the Lok Sabha polls,” added Thakur.