Ayodhya land row: Oppn attacks BJP, demands probe; BJP alleges attempt to derail Ram temple construction

15/06/2021

NEW DELHI/ LUC-KNOW, Jun 14: A war of words erupted between the BJP and the opposition parties on Monday over allegations of corruption in the purchase of land in Ayodhya by the Ram temple trust, with the Congress demanding a Supreme Court-monito-red probe and the saffron party terming it as an attempt to "defame and "derail" the temple construction.
Latching onto the issue to target the BJP and the RSS, Congress spokesperson Randeep Surjewala alleged that it was a "big scam" committed using funds collected from devotees and said Prime Minister Narendra Modi should answer the nation.
"How could BJP leaders commit such a big malpractice in the name of Lord Ram," Surjewala asked, and demanded that the apex court direct an audit of all the donations and funds received and spent by the trust and make it public in the traditions of idealism of Lord Ram.
After AAP Rajya Sabha member Sanjay Singh and former UP minister and Samajwadi Party leader Pawan Pandey claimed on Sunday that land worth Rs 2 crore was brought at an inflated price of Rs 18.5 crore by Shriram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust, its general secretary Champat Rai dismissed the allegations as politically motivated and aimed at spreading disinformation.
Rai asserted that there was complete transparency in the land transactions, but the opposition parties were unconvinced.
The BJP is betraying the people. Misusing the money collected for Ram temple is a severe blow to the sentiments and the faith of the people, the Congress alleged on its Twitter handle.
The chief justice and the Supreme Court must take cognisance of the matter and order a court-monitored probe into the charges, Surjewala said.
"Shri Ram himself is justice, truth, faith. Betrayal in his name is unrighteous," Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said.
The controversy involving the emotive Ram temple issue has erupted as political parties prepare for the assembly elections in the crucial state of Uttar Pradesh due next year.
Members of the Uttar Pradesh Women Congress held a demonstration near the official residence of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath in Lucknow.
"Crores of people made their offerings at the feet of God out of their faith and devotion. Misuse of those donations is unrighteous, a sin and an insult to their faith," Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra tweeted.
Hitting back at the opposition parties, BJP leaders claimed that those who were opposed to the Ram temple construction in Ayodhya were the ones levelling the "false allegations on the land sale.
"The political parties which for decades obstructed the decision on Ram Janmabhoomi in the court, denied the existence of Lord Ram for appeasement and opened fire on kar sevaks, should not be expected to allow temple construction to be completed without any ill-will," Amit Malviya, national in-charge of BJP's information & technology department, tweeted.
Speaking in a similar vein, Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Dinesh Sharma, said, "The official answer will be given by the Trust. I would say in one line that there are some people in the opposition who do not like anything positive in context to the Ram Janmabhoomi.
"Sometimes they say Lord Ram was fictional, and that the Ram Setu did not exist ...They do not hesitate in leaving any opportunity to defame the Ram Janmabhoomi," Sharma said.
He said when all the obstructions for the construction of the Ram temple in Ayodhya were cleared, the opposition started an "anargal pralaap" (nonsensical hue and cry) to derail it.
Delhi BJP MP Parvesh Sahib Singh said there was complete transparency in the land deal.
The pain being felt by some political families on seeing Ram temple construction had to come out in the open. They are trying to mislead society by their false propaganda, he tweeted in Hindi.
However, Delhi Deputy Chief Minister and senior AAP leader Manish Sisodia demanded that the Trust should come clean, saying the hard-earned money donated by the people should not be misused.
Party MP Sanjay Singh questioned why the BJP was "responding" to the allegations against the Trust.
"The charges are against the Trust but the BJP is responding. Is the BJP also involved in the land scam worth crores of rupees that has been committed in the name of Shri Ram," he said on Twitter
Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut also demanded a "clarification" from the Trust, saying the construction of the temple is a matter of faith for the party and the common people.
"We need to know what is happening. We need to know whether the allegations are true or false," he said
Raut said the members of the Trust were appointed by the BJP.
"Representatives of organisations like the Shiv Sena should have been included in the body as the Sena had participated in the agitation for the construction of the Lord Ram's temple...That was our earlier demand," he said.
Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party chief Om Prakash Rajbhar alleged that the BJP and the RSS have made the shrine a "medium of business" and asked Prime Minister Modi and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath as to when action will be taken against the "accused".
The SBSP leader, who is a former BJP ally in UP, also sought a probe by the CBI and the ED.
"Both the leaders claim zero tolerance (for corruption). Modi ji and Yogi ji should make it clear as to when a case will be registered against the trustee of the Ram temple trust and when the accused persons will be sent to jail," he said.
Congress' chief spokesperson Surjewala alleged the land was purchased by the Trust at Rs 18.5 crore on March 18, and according to land deeds, only a few minutes earlier on the same day Kusum Phatak had sold it for Rs 2 crore to Ravi Tiwari and Sultan Ansari from whom the trust bought the land
Citing the land deeds, Surejwala claimed that trust members Anil Mishra, who is a BJP leader, and Hrishikesh Upadhyay, a former mayor of Ayodhya, are signatories to the Rs 18.5 crore land deal.
However, Trust general secretary Champat Rai has in his statement claimed that the Trust has so far bought the land at a much lower price than the market rate.
He said the land prices in Ayodhya have risen substantially after the November 2019 judgement of the Supreme Court on the Ram temple construction. Also, the plot in question is a prime property in the railway station.
"We are applying full transparency in the purchase of land. We transfer money online for purchase of stamps and we transfer the payments to sellers online in their bank accounts," he said.

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