In strongly worded remarks amid the Ram Temple donation theft, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Friday warned that the culprits will not be spared, whoever they may be. He made the remarks during his visit to Ayodhya.
Appealing for calm, Adityanath urged people to refrain from making remarks that could hurt the sentiments of Ram devotees and asked anyone possessing documentary evidence to submit it to the Special Investigation Team (SIT).
He said the SIT has been constituted at the request of the temple trust and expressed confidence that the probe would bring the facts to light.
He also called upon devotees to uphold the ideals of dignity and patience associated with Lord Ram and not be swayed by attempts to malign Ayodhya or the Ram Janmabhoomi Temple.
The chief minister further accused the Samajwadi Party and the Congress of opposing the Ram Temple movement and alleged that previous governments had taken action against Ram devotees and kar sevaks.
Yogi slams Samajwadi Party, Congress
Yogi Adityanath accused the Congress of displaying "double standards" over Ayodhya, alleging that the party had opposed the construction of the Ram Temple and was now pretending to be concerned about the holy city.
"Look at their double standards. The same Congress party that tried every possible way to prevent the construction of Lord Ram's temple in Ayodhya is now pretending to be deeply concerned about Ayodhya," the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister said.
He further alleged that the Congress had opposed the Ram Temple movement even in court. "They used all their strength against it and, with great shamelessness, even submitted affidavits in the Supreme Court claiming that Lord Ram never existed. And today, that same Congress is acting restless over Ayodhya and claiming that Ram devotees have been insulted," he said.
Targeting the Samajwadi Party as well, Adityanath accused it of hypocrisy over its stand on Ram devotees.
"And look at the Samajwadi Party and its double standards as well. Today, they claim Ram devotees have been insulted, but these are the same people who ordered firing on 'kar sevaks' and used batons against those chanting 'Jai Shri Ram.' Now they have come forward to preach to others," he said.
Donation row at Ram Mandir
The controversy over the alleged misappropriation of donations made by devotees to the Ram Temple surfaced earlier this month after Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav claimed that reports indicated crores of rupees in donations were unaccounted for and urged the courts to take suo motu cognisance of the matter.
The temple trust has denied any wrongdoing and sought an impartial investigation, following which the Uttar Pradesh government constituted a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the allegations.
The SIT investigation entered its third day on Wednesday, with the team continuing to question several individuals as part of the inquiry.