Ram Temple Controversy
Two crores to 18 crores in minutes: SP, AAP accuse Ram Temple Trust of land scam
Lucknow/IBNS: Two opposition political parties of Uttar Pradesh, Samajwadi Party (SP) and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), have accused the Ram Temple Trust, which was set up by the Centre last year, of being involved in a land scam, media reports said.
Former SP MLA Pawan Pandey and AAP MP Sanjay Singh have alleged two real estate dealers had bought a property from an individual for Rs. two crore and sold it to the trust for Rs. 18.5 crore minutes later.
The transaction took place allegedly in March this year.
"What gold had come out of the land that its price went up from two crores to 18.5 crores in 10 minutes?... The trust was involved in the loot of Rs. 16.5 crore. There should be a CBI inquiry," Pandey said.
"People donated money to build the Ram Temple. If there is loot in the name of Ram, then it is an insult to all Hindus. Not just Hindus, it is an insult to the 120-crore people of India," he added.
In the same tune, Singh said, "No one can ever imagine that money can be looted in the name of Lord Ram. But the documents show Champat Rai (Trust member) has looted crores of rupees in the name of Ram Janmabhoomi Trust."
The temple trust has rubbished the allegation.
"All kinds of allegations have been made for over a century. Some also blamed us for Mahatma Gandhi's assassination. We do not worry about such allegations. You should not either," Vishwa Hindu Parishad leader Champat Rai, who is also the secretary of the trust, said.
"We will go through the allegation" he said on the question of allegation.
After the Supreme Court judgement paving the way for the construction of Ram Temple, the Narendra Modi government in Feb 2020 had set up the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra, the trust now in question, to manage the construction of the religious place.
The court had awarded around 70 acres of land in the ruling.
The Ram Temple, which was the core issue of the BJP in all elections, is likely to gain traction once again as the state is building up to the polls due to be held in early 2022.
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