PM Modi announced Ram temple trust in Parliament, must break silence on floor of House: Cong
Speaking to PTI ahead of the Monsoon Session of Parliament, Congress general secretary for communications Jairam Ramesh said that the Prime Minister had established the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Foundation through an announcement in Parliament and it was appropriate for him to take the two Houses into confidence about what was happening.
“On February 5, 2020, the prime minister stood up in the Lok Sabha, one of the rare occasions when he came to Parliament. He came to Parliament to announce that his government had established the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Foundation,” Ramesh said. he said.
Stating that the foundation was established by the prime minister and consists of people appointed by him, Ramesh added that the activities, functions and job description of the foundation were determined by Modi.
“It is this Trust that has betrayed the faith of dozens of Indians. It has become ‘chanda chori, aastha dhoka’ due to the activities of this Trust,” Ramesh alleged.
The Congress leader said, “So the Prime Minister should break his silence in the Parliament. He created this Foundation through an announcement on February 5, 2020. It would be appropriate for him to take the Parliament into confidence. What happened? How did this ‘chanda chori, aastha dhoka’ find its place in the Foundation that he took great pride in creating?” he said.
The allegation of embezzlement came to light last month, following which an SIT was constituted. The investigation has so far led to the arrest of eight accused, the resignation of two Foundation officials and the recovery of money allegedly siphoned from temple donations. The investigation continues. A nine-page preliminary report was submitted to the government on June 23 by the SIT, which is probing the case, which triggered a series of actions in the case.
Former Trust general secretary Champat Rai, whose resignation was accepted amid the controversy, had said in a letter that he would break his silence only after the SIT submits its final report. In the same letter, he also questioned how the confidential SIT preliminary report became public.
The investigation was also submitted to the Supreme Court for review. On July 13, the top court had directed the SIT to submit a status report on its investigation while notifying the Foundation of the petitions seeking a fair and timely investigation into the alleged misappropriation of donations.
A bench headed by Chief Justice Surya Kant sought the status report from the SIT, comprising Lucknow District Commissioner Vijay Vishwas Pant, Inspector General of Police Kiran S and Special Secretary (Finance) Neel Ratan.
Sources said the Special Investigation Team (SIT) may submit an interim report to the Supreme Court on Monday as per the top court’s directions.
