‘Catch the thieves, not critics’: Congress slams VHP over Ayodhya temple donation probe letter | India News
NEW DELHI: The Congress on Sunday hit back at the Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) after its international president Alok Kumar wrote to the investigating officer in the Ayodhya Ram Temple donation theft case, urging the police to summon Opposition leaders who have publicly alleged irregularities and ask them to provide evidence.The Congress accused the VHP and the BJP of trying to divert attention from the investigation instead of identifying those responsible for the alleged embezzlement of temple offerings.Sharing a video on X, Congress leader Pawan Khera said fresh allegations and evidence were continuing to emerge in the case. Referring to Alok Kumar’s letter, Khera questioned why Opposition leaders were being asked to provide proof instead of the investigating agencies identifying the accused.“New allegations are surfacing every day, and fresh evidence is coming to light, in the case of the theft of offerings at the Ayodhya Ram Temple,”Khera said.He added, “Today, Vishva Hindu Parishad’s Alok Kumar has written a letter to the investigating officer, suggesting that he demand evidence of the theft from Priyanka Gandhi ji, Akhilesh Yadav ji, and Ram Gopal Yadav ji.”Questioning the demand, Khera said, “Does that mean someone else commits the theft, and someone else provides the evidence?”He further alleged that the real intention was not to identify those responsible for the alleged theft.“The truth is that catching the thieves is simply not in their intentions. Their intent, as always, is to emotionally manipulate Hindu society to run their own shops,” he said.The Congress reaction came after Alok Kumar wrote to Ayodhya Deputy Superintendent of Police and investigating officer Ashutosh Tiwari, requesting that several Opposition leaders be summoned to explain the basis of their allegations regarding the alleged theft of offerings at the Ram Temple.In his letter dated July 4, Kumar referred to statements made by Samajwadi Party leader Ram Gopal Yadav, Aam Aadmi Party chief Arvind Kejriwal, AAP Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh and Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, arguing that their public remarks suggested they possessed information relevant to the investigation.According to Kumar, Ram Gopal Yadav had alleged that the scam was worth more than Rs 20,000 crore and claimed that gold, silver, diamonds, cash and other offerings had gone missing with influential people involved.The VHP leader also referred to Kejriwal’s statements alleging that valuables, including Lord Ram’s ornaments, crowns, silver lamps and large amounts of cash, had been stolen while questioning the fairness of the investigation.Kumar further cited Sanjay Singh’s allegation that theft worth more than Rs 200 crore had taken place and noted that Singh had reportedly appeared before the Special Investigation Team (SIT) and submitted documents related to his claims.Referring to Priyanka Gandhi Vadra’s remarks, Kumar said she had questioned whether lower-level employees alone could have carried out such a large-scale theft after allegedly switching off CCTV cameras or whether senior officials were involved.In the letter, Kumar urged the investigating officer to summon the leaders under relevant legal provisions or record their statements so they could disclose the basis of their allegations, the source of their information and any supporting documents or evidence.He said that if the leaders possessed credible material, it would assist the investigation in uncovering the truth. However, if the allegations were found to have been made without factual basis, that should also become part of the investigation.Kumar further said that if serious allegations had been made knowingly or recklessly without evidence, the investigating agency could consider legal action as permitted under the law, adding that ‘No one should be allowed to make baseless allegations that promote hatred or enmity’ and that ‘the law will then take its own course.’
