‘They Fired On Ram Devotees’: Yogi Adityanath Hits Back At SP Over Temple 'Theft' Criticism

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Wednesday launched a sharp attack on the Samajwadi Party over its criticism of the alleged theft of donations at the Ram temple, accusing the opposition party of adopting double standards on matters related to faith.

"They fired on Ram devotees, and today they are talking about faith," Adityanath said while speaking at Panchayat Aaj Tak.

Yogi Adityanath was referring to the police firing on karsevaks during the Ram Temple movement in 1990. Then Chief Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav ordered the police action after thousands of karsevaks had marched towards the disputed Babri Masjid site on October 30 and November 2 that year. At least 17 people were killed in the firing and related clashes, according to official records.

Adityanath said the alleged embezzlement of temple offerings had deeply hurt devotees, but maintained that the state government acted swiftly after the matter came to light.

He said the temple trust functions independently and that the government does not interfere in its day-to-day affairs. However, once allegations of wrongdoing surfaced, the government constituted a Special Investigation Team (SIT) and subsequent action were taken against the accused.

Adityanath also questioned the opposition's criticism, alleging that parties which had previously "attacked faith" and allowed lawlessness while in power were now attempting to project themselves as protectors of Hindu interests.

"They are making the theft of temple offerings the central issue today, but they do not talk about the scams and misdeeds that happened when they were in power," he said.

He also alleged that the Samajwadi Party and Congress had insulted Hindu religious sentiments by permitting namaz to be offered on the steps of the Hanuman Garhi temple in Ayodhya.

"If you are truly secular, you should have also had Hanuman Chalisa recited in a mosque. But that didn't happen. It was a one-way affair," Adityanath said at Panchayat Aaj Tak

Meanwhile, Supreme Court has directed SIT to report on the probe into the alleged embezzlement of donations. A bench of Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, Justice Joymalya Bagchi and Justice V Mohana heard a batch of petitions seeking an independent investigation into the financial irregularities.

"We would like to know who the members of the SIT are. File a status report. After seeing the report, we may issue some additional directions," the bench observed.