Yogi Adityanath Defends Ram Temple Trust, Slams Opposition Over Ayodhya Defamation Campaign

Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Tuesday accused the opposition of orchestrating a campaign to defame Ayodhya and the Ram Janmabhoomi, even as the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teertha Kshetra Trust initiated a major leadership overhaul following the preliminary findings of a Special Investigation Team (SIT) probe into alleged donation theft, Hindustan Times reported.

Addressing public gatherings in Pratapgarh and Sultanpur, Adityanath defended the Trust's handling of the controversy after it accepted the resignations of general secretary Champat Rai and trustee Anil Mishra, removed administrator Gopal Rao, and announced a three-member panel to appoint a new chief executive officer. The move is aimed at restoring the Trust's credibility following allegations of misappropriation of temple donations.

"The trust had sought an SIT for the alleged theft. I had said recently that it would separate the wheat from the chaff. On the basis of the SIT’s preliminary report, the trust got an FIR registered and took action against those against whom evidence was found. The trust is managing the affairs of the temple on its own. There is no external interference in its functioning," Adityanath said.

Adityanath Slams Opposition

Referring to the opposition's criticism of the Trust, Adityanath alleged that political parties were attempting to malign Ayodhya and hurt the religious sentiments of millions.

"The preliminary report of the SIT has led to action by the Trust. But for the past month, the SP, Congress and other so-called secular parties have been running a campaign to defame Ayodhya. They are targeting Ayodhya, targeting the Ram Janmabhoomi and attacking the faith of millions. This is a malicious attempt to create a negative atmosphere in the country," he said.

The Chief Minister also questioned what he described as the opposition's "sudden concern" for Ayodhya. He alleged that the Congress had argued before the Supreme Court that Lord Ram never existed, while accusing the Samajwadi Party of opening fire on Ram devotees in the past.

Adityanath further referred to thousands of hectares of land that he claimed had been sold across Uttar Pradesh and other parts of the country in the name of Waqf. He said the land could instead have been leased to the poor or used to help traders establish businesses.

He also criticised previous governments for spending on the construction of boundary walls around graveyards instead of restoring temples. The Chief Minister additionally referred to illegal slaughterhouses, cow smuggling, and police action against Ram devotees during earlier administrations.

SIT Probe Details

The controversy first surfaced on June 7 when Samajwadi Party leader Tej Narayan "Pawan" Pandey alleged that donations worth between Rs 5 crore and Rs 7.5 crore had been siphoned off from temple offerings.

The Uttar Pradesh government constituted an SIT on June 13 to investigate the allegations. According to investigators, the preliminary inquiry found prima facie evidence of a systematic diversion of cash during the collection and counting of donations.

Police arrested eight employees involved in handling and counting temple donations on June 26. An FIR was subsequently registered against the eight named accused and several unidentified persons under Sections 306, 316(5), 317(4), 317(5), 61 and 3(5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), along with Section 13(1)(a) of the Prevention of Corruption Act.

Among those arrested were Anukalp Mishra and Lavkush Mishra, who are related to each other and to former Trust member Anil Mishra. Ram Shankar Yadav alias "Tinnu", an aide of Champat Rai, and Manish Yadav, who are also related, were arrested along with Subhash Srivastava, Avinash Shukla, Rama Shankar Mishra and Karunesh Pandey.

Last week, police recovered Rs 79,85,493 from the eight accused. According to investigators, the cash was seized from locations including bathrooms, haystacks and cow dung cakes.

Meanwhile, Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav criticised the BJP over the case in a post on X.

"The exposure of the theft involving religious offerings and donations has brought an end to the BJP’s politics of both ‘religion’ and ‘money’. The BJP is now left with no ground to stand on," Yadav wrote, Hindustan Times reported.