Ayodhya, July 06: The Ram temple donation controversy in Ayodhya is in the news again. The gold-plated Ramcharita Manas worth around Rs 5 crore was donated to the temple by the family of former IAS officer S. Lakshminarayanan. Lakshminarayanan’s statement that the Ramcharita Manas is now missing has sparked a political uproar.
According to the former officer, his family had donated the gold-plated Ramcharita Manas to the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust in April 2024. He claimed that the religious text has since disappeared from the temple. He said that the trust’s general secretary Champat Rai had said that every donation received at the temple cannot be displayed permanently.
This is not the first time that there has been a controversy surrounding donations to the Ram temple. In the past, questions have been raised about the silver biscuits and other valuable donations received by the temple. Opposition parties and organisations involved in the silver trade have raised concerns about the records of some of the donated items. However, the Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the matter has dismissed speculation of large-scale theft of silver. Despite this, discussions continue over the handling of donations at the temple.
The Special Investigation Team is currently investigating the misappropriation of donations to the Ram temple. The investigating agencies are probing whether attempts were made to melt the stolen gold ornaments to hide their identity. So far, eight people have been arrested in the case for their involvement in the counting of donations. The investigating agencies are probing the entire matter on the basis of financial records, seizures and other evidence.
Following the controversy surrounding donations, the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust has made several changes to the entire process of counting donations. Two-stage security checks have now been made mandatory for employees counting donations. In addition, dark blue uniforms without pockets have been made mandatory for employees to reduce the chances of irregularities. The trust says that these changes are aimed at further strengthening transparency and security.