Ayodhya donation theft calls for accountability

The Ram temple in Ayodhya has been the ideological lodestar of the BJP, the culmination of a three-decade-long movement that has reshaped Indian politics. After January 22, 2024, when the temple was consecrated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, it symbolised the fulfilment of the party’s core promise. Like the Temple Construction Committee, members of the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust, formed in February 2020, were handpicked and entrusted with the management of one of independent India’s most politically consequential religious projects. Since its inception, the Trust is estimated to have received around Rs 3,500 crore as donations in cash alone. Allegations of financial irregularities — theft and embezzlement of funds and valuables donated to the temple — therefore constitute not just a grave breach of that public trust but also point to a serious institutional failure. Due process must now run its course. Anything less will deepen the damage. Even before the temple’s construction, allegations of irregular land purchases around the complex, in which Trust officials were named, had raised troubling questions. In 2020, a private audit firm had warned that the absence of a robust oversight mechanism could undermine the Trust’s accountability and fair practices. Its warning went unheeded. The report submitted by the Special Investigation Team of the Uttar Pradesh government has uncovered multiple lapses. Since then, eight lower-ranked temple officials have been arrested and a portion of the stolen funds recovered. The Trust’s general secretary and another senior trustee have resigned. As the probe widens its ambit, UP CM Yogi Adityanath has promised strict punishment for those found guilty. Those words must now be matched by action. If the Ram temple has been one pillar of the BJP’s political identity, alongside implementation of the Uniform Civil Code and abrogation of Article 370, its governance has reiterated PM Modi’s pledge of zero tolerance to corruption. That promise is now under scrutiny. Opposition leaders have demanded a court-monitored Central investigation, alleging a cover-up to shield senior Trust functionaries. Whether or not that charge is ultimately borne out, a government that claims the high moral ground, that demands accountability from everyone else, and that sees conspiracy in every criticism, cannot turn away when the reckoning comes to its own doorstep. The investigation must follow the evidence wherever it leads, without fear or favour.