New Delhi [India], June 19 (ANI): Aam Admi Party (AAP) on Friday accused Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath of showing sympathy towards these "donation thieves" amid a political row over allegations of financial irregularities in the handling of temple donations.
AAP Delhi President Saurabh Bhardwaj also slammed CM Yogi Adityanath for not taking action against the accused and referred to the demolition of properties owned by individuals accused of crimes
"It is remarkable, really, this is the same Yogi Adityanath who used to speak of deploying bulldozers the moment allegations arose. A government that never waited for investigations, legal processes, or court verdicts is now saying it will await the outcome of an inquiry; why is there such sympathy for the donation thieves? Yogi Adityanath could have said, 'As soon as we receive the names, I will have bulldozers run over their homes tomorrow and raze them to the ground.' It is difficult to understand why such sympathy is being shown towards these donation thieves," he told ANI.
The controversy stems from allegations levelled by Samajwadi Party (SP) leader Pawan Pandey, former MLA from Ayodhya, who claimed that between Rs 7 crore and Rs 7.5 crore in donations had been swindled.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Friday announced that a Special Investigation Team has been constituted to probe the matter flagged by the trust, and appealed to all Ram devotees and political parties to refrain from making "baseless comments" until the investigation is complete.
"My appeal to all Ram devotees is this: at the request of the trust, we have ordered a Special Investigation Team (SIT) inquiry. I can assure you that the SIT investigation will separate truth from falsehood. I request everyone and all parties involved to refrain from making baseless comments or statements that hurt the sentiments of Ram devotees. If anyone has any documentary evidence, they should kindly submit it to the SIT," Yogi said in Ayodhya.
Meanwhile, Samajwadi Party Chief Akhilesh Yadav took aim at CM Yogi, questioning him about the Ayodhya visit.
In a post on X, Yadav said, "An SIT should also be formed to investigate someone's record-breaking 'Ayodhya' visits."
SP chief Akhilesh Yadav had demanded an impartial investigation into the matter while alleging that the silence of the UP government was suspicious.
He had urged the judiciary to take cognisance of the situation and called on the temple administration to make relevant CCTV footage public.
However, on June 8, the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust member, Mahant Dinendra Das Maharaj, refuted Akhilesh Yadav's allegations that crores in temple donations were missing.
Das stressed that all transactions are properly recorded and processed transparently. (ANI)
