Mumbai, July 6 (IANS) The Maharashtra Congress will launch a statewide protest from Tuesday against the BJP and the RSS over the alleged theft of donations at the Ayodhya Ram temple.

State Congress chief Harshwardhan Sapkal on Monday said, “Ram devotees have donated millions of rupees, along with gold and silver jewellery, to the Lord Ram Temple in Ayodhya.”

However, he alleged that the donations made by devotees were plundered and also slammed the BJP and the RSS.

“This is not just a robbery of money or donations, but a robbery committed in the name of Shri Ram against the faith of millions of devotees,” the Congress leader said.

He said the Congress party would demand strict punishment for those responsible, alleging that the BJP and the RSS had plundered Lord Ram. He added that the protest would be officially launched on Tuesday at 11 a.m. at the historic Kalaram Temple in Nashik. Following the launch, a statewide ‘Raghupati Raghav Raja Ram’ Satyagraha will be organised across all districts from July 9 to July 14. The Satyagraha will be held at local Ram, Shiva or Hanuman temples at the district headquarters, Sapkal said.

During the protest, Sapkal stated that prayers would be offered to the deity to “grant sanity and good sense to the deceptive people who have pocketed money in the name of Maryada Purushottam Lord Ram”.

The Congress party’s announcement comes a day after the Shiv Sena (UBT) launched a statewide “Ram Raksha Andolan” on July 5, protesting alleged large-scale financial irregularities and the embezzlement of donations at the Ram Janmabhoomi Mandir in Ayodhya. The party’s top leadership used the platform to aggressively reassert its Hindutva credentials while hitting back at the BJP following recent high-profile defections from its own ranks.

Party chief Uddhav Thackeray kicked off the agitation at the historic Hanuman Temple in Dadar, Mumbai, where he led a Ram Raksha Maha Aarti alongside party workers and a group of sadhus visiting from Ayodhya.

The protest centred around the simultaneous chanting of the Ram Raksha Stotra and the Hanuman Chalisa, which the party intends to replicate across various districts. In Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, MLC Ambadas Danve led a parallel Ghantanad (bell-ringing) agitation outside the Supari Hanuman Temple.

Prominent UBT spokespersons and leaders demanded the immediate dissolution of the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust, asserting that standard administrative accountability must be enforced over holy funds. Uddhav Thackeray and MP Sanjay Raut mounted a fierce offensive against the ruling party.

Raut levelled specific accusations, claiming that, beyond cash, valuable gold ornaments, a golden Ramcharitmanas and a gold mangalsutra offered by devotees to Mother Sita had gone missing.

Thackeray reminded the public of the Shiv Sena’s history in the original Ram Janmabhoomi movement, stating, “We are staunch and patriotic Hindus. Hindus are innocent, but they are not fools. If someone loots a temple by taking advantage of our faith, Hindus won’t forgive.”

Thackeray further alleged that after coming to power, the BJP actively tried to “finish Shiv Sena” to monopolise Hindutva for purely political gains.

Reacting to the agitation, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis took a sharp swipe at Thackeray’s choice of protest. Speaking to reporters, CM Fadnavis said he was glad Thackeray had finally “remembered Lord Ram” after abandoning his original political path, adding, “My expectation is that he recites the Ram Raksha Stotra once every day, not just for today.”

–IANS

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