Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh) [India], August 30 (ANI): Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav on Sunday took a jibe at the Bharatiya Janata Party over the alleged theft of donations at the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Temple in Ayodhya, saying that “if someone commits theft” at the Ram Mandir, they would be inducted into the BJP.
In a post on X, Yadav said, “…and if someone commits theft at the Ram Mandir, they will be inducted into the BJP.”
https://x.com/yadavakhilesh/status/2094075154615943521
Yadav shared the post while reacting to an image carrying a quote attributed to Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, which read, “‘If anyone commits theft in UP, they will be left limping the next day’: CM Yogi.”
The SP chief’s remarks came days after the Uttar Pradesh Home Department handed over the final report of the Special Investigation Team (SIT) probe into the alleged theft of donations at the Ayodhya Ram Temple, along with necessary action taken in the matter, to the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Mandir Teerth Kshetra Trust.
According to sources, the SIT’s final report was submitted to the temple trust following the action taken by the Uttar Pradesh Home Department. The development pertains to the case involving allegations of embezzlement of devotees’ offerings at the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Temple.
The Uttar Pradesh government had earlier reconstituted the SIT probing the alleged misappropriation of offerings at the temple by inducting three senior IPS officers. The newly constituted SIT was headed by IG Kiran S, with DIG Ayodhya Somen Verma and SSP Ayodhya Dr Gaurav Grover as members.
The earlier SIT included Lucknow Commissioner Vijay Vishwas Pant and Special Secretary (Finance) Neel Ratan Kumar, among other officials.
The alleged multi-lakh rupee donation scam involves accusations of systematic theft of offerings by temple staff and bank employees. The matter has also triggered demands from Opposition parties for greater accountability.
Eight individuals — Avinash Shukla, Ankalp Mishra, Lavkush Mishra, Manish Kumar Yadav, Karunesh Pandey, Rama Shankar Mishra, Subhash Srivastava, and Rama Shankar alias Tinnu — have been arrested in connection with the case and were sent to judicial remand.
An FIR was registered on June 25 at the Ram Janmabhoomi Police Station based on a complaint filed by Krishanmohan, a member of the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust.
The complaint alleged a conspiracy involving temple staff engaged in counting and managing devotees’ offerings and accused them of systematic theft and misappropriation of donation funds.
The probe into the alleged embezzlement is continuing, while the political dispute over accountability and the demand for a debate have intensified. The case remains under investigation, with the allegations and circumstances surrounding the alleged misappropriation of donation funds being examined. (ANI)
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