30 June,2026 01:26 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondent
Raj Thackeray asked why leaders who had championed the construction of the Ram Temple had not publicly addressed the issue. File Pic
Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray has questioned the alleged mismanagement of donations received at the Ram Temple in Ayodhya and criticised the Central government for remaining silent on the issue.
In a post on social media platform X, Raj Thackeray referred to reports claiming that donations, jewellery and other offerings made by devotees at the temple were not being properly accounted for. He said reports suggested there was a possibility of financial irregularities and claimed that a Special Investigation Team (SIT), in its preliminary findings, had pointed to such concerns.
Thackeray questioned Prime Minister Narendra Modi and leaders of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), alleging that they had not responded to the reported allegations.
He asked why leaders who had championed the construction of the Ram Temple had not publicly addressed the issue or reassured devotees regarding the management of temple donations.
The MNS chief recalled the Ram Janmabhoomi movement and said the temple was built through the support, sacrifices and contributions of millions of Hindu devotees, saints and volunteers from across the country.
He added that the movement belonged to the wider Hindu community and not to any single political party.
Thackeray said devotees contribute money, jewellery and other valuables to the temple out of faith and devotion. He stressed that such offerings should be managed with complete transparency and accountability.
He urged devotees to continue worshipping their deities but advised them not to place blind faith in trustees or individuals who, according to him, use religion for political purposes.
Meanwhile, earlier this week, all eight people named in the first information report (FIR) in connection with the alleged embezzlement of donations and offerings at the Ram temple in Ayodhya have been arrested, even as Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust General Secretary Champat Rai and trust member Anil Mishra stepped down from their positions.
The arrests followed the registration of an FIR based on a complaint filed by Shri Krishna Mohan, a member of the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust, alleging irregularities in the handling of donations and offerings at the temple.
The eight accused - Avinash Shukla, Anukalp Mishra, Lavkush Mishra, Manish Kumar Yadav, Karunesh Pandey, Ramashankar Mishra, Subhash Srivastava and Ramshankar Yadav alias Tinnu - were associated with the counting of cash and valuables received as donations.
According to the FIR, they were allegedly caught on camera misappropriating valuables.
