Uttar PradeshCongress leaders on Tuesday (June 16, 2026) demanded a time-bound investigation by a sitting judge of a High Court into donations missing from the Ram Mandir trust, alleging “organised plunder’ of hundreds of crores of rupees by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). The nation’s faith had been betrayed by the BJP-RSS, and sold in the name of religion, the Opposition party said.

Also read | SIT starts probe into Ram Mandir donations issue, reaches Ram temple complex

U.P. Congress chief Ajay Rai, said the probe by the Special Investigation Team (SIT) into the matter was “a farce”. “The information that is coming out regarding the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi shows that there has been organised loot, in which big people are involved, and this is being said by a former BJP MP himself. Gopal Rao, a member of the trust, has already been controversial. Champat Rai Bansal absconded with all the wealth. People with backgrounds in the RSS, including Anil Mishra, were given positions in the trust. Now the government has formed an SIT in this matter and has accepted that a huge irregularity has taken place,” Mr. Rai said. 

“Earlier, the BJP-RSS people collected a lot of money in the name of ‘Shila Pujan’ at Shri Ram Janmabhoomi, of which there is no account. This represents a theft of hundreds of crores of rupees. The BJP-RSS have stolen people’s faith and offerings to God. The BJP-RSS have committed organised plunder at Shri Ram Janmabhoomi. It is unfortunate that the responsibility of investigation in the SIT has been given to an officer who himself is facing an investigation into the stampede at the Mahakumbh [January 2025]. In such a situation, it’s clear that the BJP is just going through the formalities [of a probe]. We demand a time-bound investigation by a sitting judge of the High Court on the issue of this organised loot,” Mr. Rai said in New Delhi.

The BJP government, both at the Centre and the State, is responsible for the corruption in the temple, as all appointed individuals at the trust are closely linked with the ruling dispensation, Mr. Rai told The Hindu. “Prime Minister Narendra Modi is responsible for this corruption in the Ram Mandir. All the members of the trust have deep links with the BJP government. Retired officers have served under the Prime Minister, RSS people claim to guide the BJP government, with the Chief Minister and other functionaries regularly meeting them, hence the government is equally responsible for the corruption. This SIT enquiry is a farce,” Mr. Rai said. 

In a related development, Santosh Dubey, who claims to have been an activist in the agitation for the Ram Mandir, has submitted a written complaint at the Ram Janmabhoomi Police Station in Ayodhya to register a case against the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra trust secretary Champat Rai and three others, namely, Anil Mishra, Gopal Rao, and Tinu, accusing them of embezzling donations to the temple. Mr. Dubey, who heads the Hindu Dharma Sena, submitted a written complaint to the police regarding the alleged theft of funds donated to the temple.

He handed over the complaint to the Station House Officer of the Ram Janmabhoomi police station. Speaking to local mediapersons, Mr. Dubey said individuals had looted money deposited for the temple.

Samajwadi Party (SP) president Akhilesh Yadav alleged rising corruption in the State. “In a State where IITs (Indian Institutes of Technology) were supposed to be developed for jobs, SITs are being formed instead. So much corruption is happening. Officials will investigate our saints, priests, and temple attendants. But who will investigate these officials?...I even asked, why haven’t the salaries of those serving there (the Ram Mandir) been increased? If they were paid lakhs a month, perhaps they wouldn’t have to think in this direction,” the SP president said.