Congress seeks Supreme Court-monitored probe into Ram Temple donation theft case

Thrissur,UPDATED: Jul 11, 2026 11:43 IST

Congress leader KC Venugopal on Saturday said that donations meant for the Ram Temple at Ayodhya had been embezzled, calling it the "biggest loot of a shrine ever seen in India".

He also questioned why Prime Minister Narendra Modi was silent on the issue and said the Congress would seek an answer from him in the upcoming Parliament session.

Speaking to reporters, Venugopal said the party would continue to raise the matter across the country. He said the embezzlement had affected crores of believers and claimed that the silence of the Prime Minister and the Union Home Minister was serious.

"We are raising and will continue to raise the issue across the country. This loot has affected crores of believers in the country. But the PM and the Home Minister are silent on it. Only an SIT of Uttar Pradesh police has been constituted and the intention behind it is to save the actual culprits," he said.

He claimed that only a Supreme Court-monitored probe would bring out those responsible.

Venugopal further said that Sangh Parivar organisations such as the VHP and RSS had collected donations from devotees for the last 20 to 25 years in the name of the temple, and alleged that this money and gold had been looted.

He also alleged that this had happened with the knowledge of office bearers of the temple trust, who, he said, were appointed under the Prime Minister's supervision.

The Congress leader also alleged that the BJP and RSS were "not actual believers".

"They are only interested in looting in the name of Hindus and dividing people for votes. This is not just a loot, but an attack on the faith of the devotees," he said.

He added that for the Congress, the matter was not political, unlike the BJP and RSS, who, he alleged, "used Gods for their own political purposes".

Venugopal also asked why the BJP in Kerala was silent on the issue and claimed that this showed a bid to protect the real culprits. He further claimed that similar allegations of looting were being reported in connection with the Badrinath and Kedarnath temples.

In sum, he said the embezzlement of temple donations had hurt the faith of devotees and demanded a Supreme Court-monitored investigation into the matter.

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