Thiruvananthapuram | Senior Congress leader Pawan Khera on Monday accused the BJP and the RSS of turning temples into "collection centres" for the Sangh.
Referring to the reported theft of devotees' offerings at the Ayodhya Ram temple, he alleged that it reflected a "business model of theft" built around faith.
Addressing a press conference at the KPCC headquarters here, Khera said the Congress was raising the issue on behalf of millions of devotees who had donated their hard-earned money, jewellery and valuables for the construction of the Ram temple and as offerings to the deity.
Calling the alleged theft a "daylight dacoity", he said it was not merely the theft of devotees' offerings but also "a robbery of people's faith, trust and confidence" in the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust.
The Congress leader said the trust, constituted following the Supreme Court's directive, had been entrusted with maintaining the temple, regulating pilgrims and safeguarding devotees' offerings, but alleged that it had failed in its responsibility and betrayed the faith of devotees.
He accused the BJP and the RSS of taking political credit for the construction of the Ram temple, saying it was built after the Supreme Court's verdict paved the way for its construction.
He further alleged that they had now been "caught red-handed" over the reported theft of devotees' offerings.
"Prime Minister Narendra Modi is silent. The RSS is silent. Amit Shah is absent. Who will take responsibility for this daylight robbery?" he asked.
Khera alleged there was an attempt to shield those at the top while only junior officials and employees were being proceeded against.
"There is someone or a group of senior people who are being protected. Whether that protection comes from Delhi or Nagpur, we do not know," he alleged.
Claiming that the BJP and the RSS had no right to "backstab" the faith of Hindus, Khera referred to media reports of alleged irregularities relating to temples in Badrinath and the Baglamukhi shrine in Madhya Pradesh.
He alleged that despite infrastructure major L&T offering to construct the Ayodhya Ram Temple virtually free of cost and a stone supplier offering to provide stones at a token price, the trust spent around Rs 2,100 crore on the project and purchased stones at Rs 500 per square foot.
Khera questioned the trust's purchase of nearby land worth Rs 86 crore, alleging it was being used to grow cattle fodder despite there being no goshala (shelter for cows) attached to the shrine.
Demanding that the present trust be dissolved, he said a new body comprising religious leaders, social activists and persons of integrity should be constituted to manage the temple.
Khera demanded a digital forensic investigation and a comprehensive forensic audit of the trust's accounts, donations, offerings and land transactions.
"We have demanded a time-bound inquiry under the supervision of a sitting Supreme Court judge. If the government has nothing to hide, why is it running away from this demand?" he asked, adding that people had little faith in the present SIT.
Alleging that the BJP, the RSS and the VHP had collected funds in the name of Lord Ram for three decades, Khera claimed, "This is a business model of theft." He alleged that temples had been turned into "collection centres" for the RSS and questioned whether devotees' money was being used to build luxurious party offices.
"Why should Amit Shah and Mohan Bhagwat be custodians of our faith? The custodians of our faith should be the Shankaracharyas," he claimed, alleging that the trust had been filled with RSS nominees.
Khera said the Congress was holding press conferences across the country to "expose" the BJP, the RSS and the VHP over the issue.
The leader's remarks came a day after the RSS expressed "grief" over the alleged irregularities in the counting of donation box offerings at the Shri Ram temple in Ayodhya and voiced confidence that the ongoing SIT probe and police action would reach a "decisive turn".
Replying to a question on the Vizhinjam port share transfer issue in the state, Khera said Congress leader Rahul Gandhi had made it clear that the party was opposed to monopolies.
He alleged that anyone who questioned Prime Minister Narendra Modi was labelled "anti-national." He criticised the Union government for failing to initiate talks with the protesters to end the ongoing CJP protest in New Delhi.
The Cockroach Janta Party has been staging a protest in New Delhi for several weeks now, demanding Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan's resignation and accountability from the government over alleged irregularities in examinations.
