Congress urges PM to order probe into ‘corruption’ in Ayodhya land deal

The Congress urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday to order a probe into alleged corruption in the purchase of land by the Ram temple trust in Ayodhya.

Congress's chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said this is not the time to remain silent as it is a question of the faith of the crores of devotees of Lord Ram.

The demand came two days after charges of corruption emerged in the purchase of land by the trust, with allegations that the said land was registered for Rs 2 crore and sold for Rs 8.5 crore within minutes, according to the land registration documents.

"Lies-fraud-ego-deception do not last long. Every single word said by Shankaracharyaji is important. The saints are saddened by the fraud in the name of Lord Ram. Dear prime minister, this is not the time to remain silent as this is the question about the faith of the crores of devotees of Lord Ram. Get an investigation conducted," Surjewala said in a tweet in Hindi.

His remarks came after Shankaracharya Swami Swarupanand Saraswati accused the general secretary of the Ram temple trust, Champat Rai, of being irresponsible and sought his removal from the trust.

Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi demanded a Supreme Court-supervised investigation into the allegations of corruption in the land deal of the Ram temple trust.

In a statement posted on her Facebook page, she said any attempt to find an "opportunity in faith" is an assault on the faith of crores of Indians and a "big sin".

The Shriram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust, she said, was formed by Modi and has people close to him as trustees.

"It is the responsibility of the prime minister that every penny of the offerings by the devotees in the name of Lord Ram should be used in the collective work related to faith and not in any scam," the Congress general secretary said in her statement in Hindi.

Meanwhile, Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera accused BJP and RSS leaders in Rajasthan of indulging in corruption while seeking bribe from companies in lieu of payments released by the Jaipur civic body. He named the husband of the suspended mayor of the Jaipur Municipal Corporation and the RSS in-charge for Rajasthan.

The Congress also released audio and video tapes to substantiate its claims, saying the same are doing the rounds of social media platforms.

Khera said the Anti-Corruption Bureau of the Rajasthan police has taken suo motu cognizance of the video and audio clips and initiated a preliminary investigation in the matter.

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