BJP, RSS, VHP ka sapna, chande ka maal apna: Congress

New Delhi: The Congress on Thursday launched a scathing attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the Ram temple donation theft case, asking why he became “complicit in this sin” by offering his “tacit consent”. The opposition party took a swipe at Hindutva outfits over the issue with the rhyming line in Hindi -- ‘BJP, RSS VHP ka sapna, chande ka maal apna’ (The dream of the BJP, RSS, and Vishva Hindu Parishad is to treat donation funds as their own)”.

In a post in Hindi on X, Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh said, “It is not just the offerings at the Ram Mandir that have been stolen; the thousands of crores of rupees collected as donations from crores of citizens across the country for the construction of the Ram Mandir have also been plundered.”

Despite repeated questions raised by the opposition, and notwithstanding the allegations levelled against individuals associated with the BJP, RSS, and Vishva Hindu Parishad, no investigation has been conducted, nor has any action been taken, he alleged. “Theft of donations even before the offerings?” Ramesh said. Reiterating the Congress’ questions to the BJP regarding the suspicious land deals involving the Ram Mandir Trust, Ramesh asked whether it is not true that on “March 18, 2021, at 7:10 PM, Tiwari and Ansari purchased land from Kusum Pathak for Rs 2 crore, and at 7:15 PM -- just five minutes later -- the Trust, through Champat Rai, acquired the same land for Rs 18.5 crore”.

He was apparently referring to Ram Mohan Tiwari and Sultan Ansari, who had reportedly sold the land to the Trust. Ramesh asked, “How was a 825% markup -- a blatant act of plunder -- allowed to happen in just five minutes?” Is it not true that the witnesses for both registration deeds were the same individuals - the then-BJP Mayor, Rishikesh Upadhyay, and Trustee Anil Mishra, he further asked. Ramesh questioned whether it is not true that the investigation report from 2021 has not been made public, even five years later. When will the results of the SIT investigation into these land deals be revealed, he asked.

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