Ghaziabad, June 26 (IANS) Spiritual leader Acharya Pramod Krishnam on Friday reacted to the Ram Temple donation theft row, saying that one or two resignations are not enough and that the matter requires a thorough investigation. He also said that holding a position is not as important as upholding religion.

Speaking to IANS, Acharya Pramod Krishnam said, “This theft did not take place at any trader’s shop or a businessman’s factory. This is the loot of people’s faith. One or two resignations do not matter.”

“There is a need to go into the depth of the matter. This is not just about Rs 200 crore, but a matter of Rs 1,000 crore. Who committed this sin? It should be revealed,” he said.

He further said that the people of the country have faith in Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.

“The people of the country have faith in Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath that there will be a transparent investigation into this matter. Therefore, for the sake of transparency, the resignation was necessary. Because holding a position does not matter, but upholding religion does,” he added.

Reacting to the Opposition’s continuous criticism over the issue, he said, “The Opposition is trying to defame Prime Minister Modi, Chief Minister Yogi, and the Ram Mandir. This is the same Opposition that was against Lord Ram and opposed the construction of the Ram Temple. However, people’s faith in Lord Ram will never diminish. The Opposition should not worry about it.”

Meanwhile, days after alleged misappropriation of funds at the Ram Temple stirred a national controversy, Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust chief Champat Rai and Trust member Anil Mishra stepped down from their positions, credible sources said.

According to information shared by UP government sources, both the key Trust members have resigned from their positions. Both are understood to have stepped down on moral grounds.

The development comes as a major fallout of the donation controversy at the Ram Temple, which came as a shock to crores of devotees in India and abroad.

According to reports, offerings and valuables worth hundreds of crores were misappropriated by the temple staff in connivance with bank officials.

As the temple trust is entrusted with the task of monitoring day-to-day operations and overseeing the management of offerings to Lord Ram, the resignations come on the back of mounting scrutiny and demand for the sacking of officials after the preliminary findings submitted by the SIT, which flagged lapses in the handling of donations offered by devotees at the Ram Temple.

Last night, an FIR was also lodged against eight individuals, including the temple attendants, counting staff and former bank officials who allegedly acted in collusion to siphon off the temple funds.

All the accused named in the FIR were arrested and put behind bars.

The arrested accused include Avinash Shukla, Anukalp Mishra, Lavkush Mishra, Manish Kumar Yadav, Karunesh Pandey, Ramashankar Mishra, Subhash Srivastava, and Ram Shankar Yadav alias Tinnu.

–IANS

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