Priyanka Gandhi said the government could not dismiss the alleged misappropriation as a state matter after Modi had presided over the consecration ceremony at the temple and the BJP had made its construction a major political issue. Her intervention on Wednesday came as Opposition parties intensified their demand for a parliamentary debate on the handling of temple donations.
“Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the Ram Temple. He is not the prime minister of a state but of the country,” she told reporters at the Parliament House complex. She said people across the country had contributed money out of religious faith and argued that they were entitled to know what had happened to those donations.
Priyanka Gandhi accused the BJP of adopting conflicting positions. She said the party had treated the temple as an issue of national significance while campaigning and seeking political support, but was now describing the alleged theft as a matter to be handled by Uttar Pradesh authorities.
Her remarks sharpened an increasingly bitter confrontation during the Monsoon Session of Parliament. The Congress-led Opposition has demanded that Modi address the alleged diversion of temple funds. The government has resisted a parliamentary debate on the issue, citing the investigation under way in Uttar Pradesh.
The controversy began after investigators uncovered alleged theft involving cash offerings at the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi temple. Eight people linked to the handling and counting of donations were arrested in June. Investigators recovered about ₹79.8 lakh in cash from seven of those arrested, while financial transactions and bank accounts linked to the accused and their relatives came under scrutiny.
The case has raised wider questions about the controls governing one of the country’s most prominent religious institutions. The Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust had received about ₹582 crore in donations by March 31, making transparency in the counting, storage and management of offerings a politically sensitive matter.
The trust subsequently underwent a leadership shake-up. General secretary Champat Rai and trustee Anil Mishra stepped down, while steps were initiated to appoint a new chief executive officer. Around 20 candidates were shortlisted for interviews on August 11 and 12 as part of the process of strengthening the temple administration after the scandal.
Judicial scrutiny has also increased. The Supreme Court intervened after petitions sought stronger supervision of the investigation. It directed that the probe be handled by a reconstituted Special Investigation Team led by a senior police officer and asked the temple trust to preserve donation receipts. The court also cautioned political parties against turning the criminal investigation into a partisan contest.
The BJP has accused Opposition parties of exploiting a criminal case for political advantage. The party faces particular pressure because the Ram temple has been closely associated with its political rise and was presented as the fulfilment of a decades-long commitment. Modi led the consecration ceremony in Ayodhya on January 22, 2024.
Priyanka Gandhi sought to turn that association into an argument for greater accountability. She said contributions had been made not only by wealthy devotees but also by poorer families who donated because of their faith in Lord Ram. She questioned why the same national political ownership displayed during the temple campaign was absent when allegations surfaced over the handling of offerings.
The dispute has become one of several issues disrupting parliamentary proceedings. Opposition parties have also been demanding answers over police action against student protesters, while the government has offered a statement by Home Minister Amit Shah on the student agitation in an effort to break the deadlock. The Opposition has insisted that the temple donation controversy must also be debated.
(IPA Service)
