Congress accused the BJP of shielding senior figures in the alleged Ram temple donation theft. The party demanded a transparent investigation supervised by the Supreme Court.Image used for representational purposes onlyNewdelhi,Oct 29, 2026 14:28 ISTThe Congress on Thursday attacked the BJP over the alleged theft of donations to the Ram temple, claiming that charges could not be framed against eight accused for the third time, news agency Press Trust of India reported.The opposition party questioned why former temple trust officials such as Champat Rai and Anil Mishra were witnesses rather than accused.

It also asked when the role of senior people would be investigated and accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of avoiding accountability.In a post in Hindi on X, Congress general secretary in charge of communications Jairam Ramesh said, “Chanda Chori, Aastha Dhokha. We have been stating from day one that the BJP government wants to protect the real big thieves.

Now, in the Ram Mandir donation theft case, charges could not be framed against eight accused for the third time either. The accused appeared via video conferencing, but the demand to provide video footage and audio remains pending.”“The question is, whose secrets will be exposed if the full video footage and audio of the Ram Mandir come to light?

There is suspicion in the minds of the people of the country that the complete footage and audio could reveal crucial secrets related to the theft of donations and the complicity of ‘big people’,” Ramesh said, according to PTI. He said the country wanted to know what was contained in the recordings and why there was a delay in making them available.Ramesh claimed that 105 instances of donation money being removed had been captured on CCTV. “Warnings from the 2020 audit were issued, a video of the theft surfaced on June 4, and an FIR was registered on June 25.

Even today, accountability for the entire system has not been fixed. Why is that?” he asked.

He also questioned why BJP governments were showing what he described as a keen interest in protecting people linked to the RSS, VHP and BJP. “Don't they have any sense of shame? Don't they fear the public, who are like God?” Ramesh said.“We ask again: Why are trust officials like Champat Rai and Anil Mishra witnesses instead of accused?

When will the role of big responsible people be investigated? Will the responsibility for the theft be limited just to eight employees?” he said.Ramesh said the Congress wanted an independent and impartial investigation under the supervision of the Supreme Court. “The audit warnings, CCTV footage, financial transactions, and the role of trust officials should be investigated.

A full accounting of the donations received in the name of Shri Ram should be placed before the country,” he said.Questioning the Prime Minister, Ramesh said, “Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is always at the forefront of taking credit for the Shri Ram Mandir, why is he now backing away from accountability for the donation theft? The donations came in the name of Shri Ram.

An accounting must be given, and accountability must be fixed. Not silence — answers are needed.”The Congress had stepped up its attack on the Modi government on Tuesday, saying “chanda chors”, or donation thieves, could not evade accountability as the country was seeking an account of the offerings.

It said the faith of devotees did not give anyone the right to avoid accountability.The party said audit warnings, alleged commissions in contracts, the full extent of the alleged misappropriation and a complete account of valuable donations should be made public. It also alleged that people such as Rai were being shielded in the investigation and criticised Modi's “silence”, saying the “arrogance of power is suicidal”.The Congress has raised several questions about the investigation by the special investigation team and maintained that only an impartial and transparent probe supervised by the Supreme Court could establish the truth.

It has also alleged that the Prime Minister's silence suggests that the thieves “enjoy his protection”.The Congress's attack on the BJP over the alleged donation theft and its demand for a court-supervised investigation come ahead of the Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections scheduled for early next year.- Ends