The Congress demanded the immediate arrest of former trust general secretary Champat Rai and an apology from Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the donation theft.
Congress leader Jairam Ramesh called for the dissolution of the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust and a Supreme Court-supervised probe.
Senior leader Shaktisinh Gohil proposed a new trust comprising Shankaracharyas, a retired Supreme Court judge, Nirmohi Akhara representatives, and seers.
The Congress demanded the immediate arrest of former Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust general secretary Champat Rai and sought an apology from Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the alleged embezzlement of temple donations.
The opposition party escalated its attack after the temple trust accepted the resignations of Rai and member Anil Mishra on July 6, 2026, following the donation theft scandal. Trustee Krishna Mohan has been named as the interim general secretary.
"The Congress demands: Dissolve the trust; arrest the real culprits; conduct an investigation under Supreme Court supervision; form a new trust; apologise to the nation. Modi ji, break your silence" Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said in a post on X.
Demands For Trust Overhaul
Senior Congress leader Shaktisinh Gohil, in a press conference, demanded that the current trust be dissolved and replaced by a new body comprising Shankaracharyas, a retired Supreme Court judge, Nirmohi Akhara representatives and seers.
"The Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust should be immediately dissolved and replaced by a new trust; the composition of this new trust should be decided collectively by the Shankaracharyas, a retired Supreme Court judge, representatives of the Nirmohi Akhara, and various seers and saints," Gohil said.
The former MP alleged daily temple collections rose from ₹16-18 lakh to ₹ 24-26 lakh after the theft became public suggesting ₹10 lakh was misappropriated daily prior to the disclosure.
The BJP disregarded the Shankaracharyas' objections regarding the auspicious timing (muhurat) of the consecration ceremony to secure electoral gains, Gohil added.
Scale Of Donation Theft
The embezzlement allegations involve the systematic siphoning of Ram Temple offerings. Samajwadi Party leader Tej Narayan 'Pawan' Pandey initially claimed the stolen amount stood between Rs 5 crore and Rs 7.5 crore.
A Special Investigation Team (SIT) probe revealed approximately 70 instances of cash theft by counting staff between April 27 and June 5, 2026. Police have since seized ₹79.85 lakh from eight arrested employees.
Champat Rai and Anil Mishra resigned on moral grounds after the arrests included Rai's driver and Mishra's relatives. The trust formally accepted these resignations on July 6, 2026.
