NEW DELHI: Congress leader Jairam Ramesh on Monday slammed the ruling BJP government regarding the handling of the alleged donation theft at the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Temple in Ayodhya.
In a post on X, Jairam Ramesh characterised the incident as a grave betrayal of faith (“Chanda Theft, Faith Deceived”), alleging that political leverage is being actively deployed to shield influential decision-makers while sacrificing lower-level workers.
“Chanda Theft, Faith Deceived Gained power in Ram’s name, silence reigns over chanda theft. The BJP, which came to power invoking Lord Ram’s name, will be destroyed by the sin of chanda theft,” he said.
The Congress leader further alleged that despite the theft coming to light on June 4, 2026, the Uttar Pradesh government delayed the formation of a Special Investigation Team (SIT) until June 13 nine full days after public exposure. By August 17, the Home Department released its final report directly to the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust, delivering clean chits to senior trust officials, including Champat Rai and Anil Mishra.
“SIT formed to suit the accused. The case of this grand theft at the Lord Shri Ram Temple in Ayodhya was made public on June 4, and it was only nine full days later, on June 13, 2026, that the UP government formed the SIT at the trust’s request. On August 17, the Home Department handed over its final report to the same trust, which, as expected, gave Champat Rai and Anil Mishra a clean chit,” added Ramesh.
He said that the surveillance footage spanning from April 27 to June 5 captured counting staff hiding bundles of notes on 105 separate occasions. Despite preliminary reports on June 23 noting severe lapses in surveillance protocol and empty control rooms, no systemic investigation was pursued against those responsible for oversight.
“Theft caught on camera 105 times. In footage from April 27 to June 5, 2026, counting staff were seen hiding bundles of notes,” added Ramesh.
The Congress leader further added that Ayodhya’s local saints and commentators raised sharp questions over internal financial governance, noting that Treasurer Govind Giri responsible for oversight cleared senior trust figures of involvement on July 7 without addressing basic custodial accountability.
“The one responsible issues the clean chit: The treasurer was responsible for the treasury, so the biggest question falls on them. Saints of Ayodhya also said that Treasurer Govind Giri must have known where the money was coming from and where it was going. Yet, on July 7, he denied any role of Champat Rai in this scam,” he said.
Ramesh said that months after the scandal was exposed, authorities have not made public the total quantum of stolen funds or valuables. Following the June 25 FIR, eight counting room staff were promptly arrested and jailed, whereas no former or current trust executives were named or subjected to interrogation by central agencies such as the Enforcement Directorate (ED) or the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
“Theft figures still hidden: The country has not been told to this day how much money or valuables were stolen. The preliminary report of June 23 already made it clear that surveillance rules were not in place and the control room was often left empty. Why no probe into who all were involved and responsible? How was the investigation closed without revealing the theft figures? Small employees in jail, big ones outside: FIR registered on June 25, and the next day eight people linked to counting were arrested, but no former trust official’s name is in the FIR. Why no rigorous questioning by ED/CBI from anyone?” he added.
Calling out the four-and-a-half months of silence from Prime Minister Narendra Modi and UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, Ramesh reiterated the demand for a transparent, independent, Supreme Court-monitored investigation to reveal the complete scale of the theft and fix accountability across all levels.
“Lord Ram in Ayodhya had already signaled by defeating the BJP, which they failed to understand and allowed the offering theft to continue. No hope of investigation into offering thieves linked to the Sangh Parivar from the BJP government, which is why Congress demands that the entire matter of offering theft at the Lord Shri Ram Temple in Ayodhya be investigated independently, impartially, and transparently under Supreme Court supervision. Full accounting of offerings must be made public, roles of all responsible persons investigated, and no official spared accountability. Over four and a half months have passed since the chanda theft case at the Lord Shri Ram Temple in Ayodhya was made public, yet Chief Minister Ajay Singh Bisht and Prime Minister Narendra Modi remain silent. Now it is the responsibility of the country’s citizens to punish the chanda thieves drowned in the arrogance of power,” said Ramesh.
