Congress calls SIT probe ‘drama’ in Ram Mandir theft case:Questions why no bulldozer action against Champat Rai

The Madhya Pradesh Congress has accused the Centre and the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust of trying to shield the main accused in the alleged Ram Mandir offering embezzlement case. Addressing a press conference on Wednesday, state Congress leaders demanded that the investigation be transferred to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). Former Madhya Pradesh minister P.C. Sharma alleged that the Special Investigation Team (SIT) set up by the government was nothing more than a “drama.” He claimed that the investigation had so far targeted only employees responsible for counting temple donations, while the real culprits were being protected. Sharma alleged that the ongoing investigation in Ayodhya was aimed at protecting the Mandir Trust’s former General Secretary Champat Rai and his close associates. He also questioned Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s silence on the issue, accusing the government of trying to suppress the matter. ‘Why no action against Champat Rai?’ Sharma demanded that Champat Rai’s role in the alleged donation theft be investigated and questioned why no action had been taken against him so far. He referred to reports of Rai’s resignation, claiming that it had not yet been accepted, and asked why he had neither been sent to jail nor faced any demolition action, despite the government’s frequent use of bulldozer action in other cases. Actor Vikram Mastal questions BJP’s silence Actor Vikram Mastal Sharma, who portrayed Hanuman in Ramayan-2, also criticized the BJP over the controversy. “I want to ask the ruler who repeatedly claimed—from Parliament to public rallies—that he brought Lord Ram. Where is he today, and why is he silent on this issue?” Mastal said. He added that while history would remember the construction of the Ram Mandir, it would also remember the controversy surrounding the alleged theft of devotees’offerings. According to him, the offering to the Mandir belonged to ordinary devotees, farmers and the poor. Demand for court intervention and CBI probe Congress leaders alleged that despite multiple complaints regarding the alleged theft of temple donations, no meaningful action had been taken. Calling the BJP a “mute spectator” driven by the pursuit of power, Mastal urged the judiciary to take suo motu cognizance of the matter. He also demanded that the temple’s administration be handed over to the Army and that the existing temple management committee be dissolved immediately. The Congress reiterated its demand that the alleged Ram Mandir donation theft case be investigated by the CBI instead of the SIT.