Mumbai, June 28 (IANS) NCP-SP spokesperson Anish Gawande on Sunday lashed out at Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath following his remarks aimed at Samajwadi Party President Akhilesh Yadav, calling it “politics of distraction”.

Speaking to IANS regarding the resignations of Shri Ram Janmbhoomi Teerth Kshetra General Secretary Champat Rai and Trust member Anil Mishra, the NCP-SP leader raised questions over the appointment of the trust members.

“Kilos of silver, crores of cash, among other things, have been stolen. On one hand, it is said that the Trust is independent, while on the other, you say that the government has now put pressure on it. So, is the government running the trust or is it functioning on its own?” Gawande asked.

“Who has appointed the people, who are members of this Trust?” he asked.

Gawande further raised questions over the background verification of those managing the functioning of the Ram Temple Trust.

“Were background checks conducted on the members? You may arrest Champat Rai, but what about the person who appointed him?” he also asked.

Earlier in the day, CM Adityanath accused SP chief Akhilesh Yadav and his party of having a history of opposing Hindu religious traditions and questioning their commitment to the development of Ayodhya, a day after Yadav pledged that, if voted to power, his party would develop the temple town into a “peerless and inimitable sacred city.”

Responding to it, Gawande said: “This Hindu-Muslim politics will not be allowed in this country. It is not mandatory for somebody to be a devotee of Lord Ram in order to raise questions over the corruption surrounding the Ram Temple.”

“No one needs to prove his or her religion in order to demand accountability (of the government). It is rather important to discuss real issues,” he added.

“When Yogi Adityanath makes an allegation against the SP chief over who fired at whom (during the Ayodhya firing incident), he is playing a politics of distraction that we must all be wary of.”

Moreover, the NCP-SP leader emphasised: “The real question is how did the trustees, supervised by the UP CM himself, commit corruption worth thousands of crores and where did the money go? These are the questions that the country is asking, and an independent inquiry is required for that.”

On being asked about the alleged irregularities in the now-postponed Teacher Eligibility Test (TET) 2026, he said: “Every day a new paper leak is taking place in the country. Earlier, it was NEET; now, the TET question paper has also been leaked.”

“Such paper leak cases are increasing in the country due to a lack of accountability. Maharashtra Education Minister Dadaji Bhuse is not punished. (NEET) Paper leak happened in 2024 as well, but still Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan has not resigned yet,” Gawande added.

–IANS

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