New Delhi, July 14 (IANS) Amid the controversy over the alleged irregularities in donations and jewellery handling at Ayodhya’s Ram Temple, the Shri Badrinath temple in Uttarakhand, and Vaishno Devi temple in Jammu and Kashmir, the Samajwadi Party (SP) on Tuesday sought a Supreme Court-monitored probe into the allegations.

The reaction follows the allegation that “several kilograms of silver jewellery have been replaced with fake ones” at the Vaishno Devi temple in J&K’s Reasi.

Initially, it was believed that devotees had unknowingly offered fake silver at the shrine. However, advocate Deepak Sharma, in his complaint to the Inspector General of the Crime Branch, alleged the substitution and misappropriation of silver offerings, NDTV reported.

Speaking to IANS, Samajwadi Party MLA Ravidas Mehrotra said: “At the Vaishno Devi Temple in Jammu, the 550 kilograms of silver that had been offered was allegedly replaced with fake silver, while the original silver went missing. Across the country, the BJP has taken control of the trusts of several prominent temples and has looted donations, offerings, and gold and silver ornaments received at these temples.”

“We demand the formation of a committee under the leadership of a Supreme Court judge, which will probe the allegations of donation theft being made against several Hindu temples across the country.”

Congress spokesperson Atul Londe Patil targeted the BJP and the RSS over the embezzlement allegations.

“Starting from Champat Rai…all those who have been appointed have links with the RSS and the BJP. The thefts are taking place in front of our eyes, despite that some people are supporting it,” he told IANS.

“This shows their faith and devotion for the Lord. People have seen this it (faith) is being utilised for politics, ‘vote and note’,” Patil remarked.

Meanwhile, BJP spokesperson Abhijeet Jasrotia called for a thorough probe into such allegations.

“These are matters related to faith; when such allegations surface, these should be thoroughly probed. We have full faith in the courts that justice will be delivered,” he said.

In a similar demand to that of the SP, Congress Media and Publicity Department Chairman, Pawan Khera, on Monday demanded a Supreme Court-monitored probe into the alleged misappropriation of donations and financial irregularities linked to the Ram Temple trust in Ayodhya, while alleging that a broad daylight robbery had taken place in the name of the temple.

Khera alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had constituted the Ram Temple Trust and that while the Prime Minister and the RSS had proudly claimed credit for the temple’s construction, they had now fallen silent after allegations of corruption surfaced.

–IANS

cg/vd