‘SIT formed to delay probe in Ram Temple case’: Oppn backs Venugopal’s letter to PM Modi seeking SC-monitored probe

New Delhi: Opposition leaders on Friday came out in support of Congress MP K.C. Venugopal, a day after he wrote a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking a Supreme Court-monitored probe into the alleged embezzlement of donations and funds at Ayodhya’s Ram Temple.

“The massive Chanda Chori at the Ayodhya Ram Temple has shaken the nation. Crores of innocent devotees gave their hard-earned savings in the name of Lord Rama. He who is known as ‘Maryada Purushottam’ has been misused and tarnished by those who claim to be the protectors of Hindu faith,” Venugopal wrote in a post on X, along with pictures of his letter.

Reacting to it, Congress MP Tariq Anwar said that Venugopal’s demand is the “party’s collective stand”.

“It is our view that the Special Investigation Team (SIT) was formed to delay and divert the matter. If a genuine investigation was intended, an FIR should have been followed by a CBI probe or a probe under the supervision of a sitting Supreme Court judge, as demanded by Congress. This SIT has clearly been created to protect the big fish involved,” Anwar told IANS.

Flagging “trust issues” on the SIT, Congress leader Sandeep Dikshit said: “We are repeatedly asking, on what basis, with what criteria, were people appointed there? Those who appointed them should also be questioned. When the systems were being created, was there any audit mechanism? Was there any process to register the donations that came in?”

Addressing the BJP-led Centre, he said: “Did you just build the Ram Mandir, use it for political mileage, and then forget about it? When you create such a large institution, with significant resources, you should have established some procedures, or did you treat it as private property? Those people should also be questioned.”

Echoing a similar view, RJD MP Manoj Jha said: “Looking at the functioning of the SIT over the past few days, it clearly appears that the big fish will be protected while the small ones will be caught.”

Asserting that the letter reflects the “sentiment of the entire country”, he urged PM Modi to intervene in the matter.

However, BJP MP Dinesh Sharma hit back at the Opposition, saying: “They don’t want devotees to visit Hindu temples and instead want people to stop making offerings.”

“They themselves don’t have any faith, so now all they are attempting to reduce the number of devotees at temples. Religious tourism is a source of employment for many. The Opposition does not want Uttar Pradesh to progress,” he alleged.

Vishwa Hindu Parishad’s Joint General Secretary Surendra Jain said that whether a case will undergo a Supreme Court-monitored probe or not is decided by the court itself and not by the Prime Minister.

“Venugopal ji is a senior politician…does he not know this?” he told IANS.

“They only want to indulge in politics (over the issue) and insult people’s faith on Lord Ram. They are not bothered to find the culprits.”

IANS