The Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust’s decision to perform a 10-day purification ritual to atone for the alleged theft of devotees’ donations has drawn sharp political reactions, with the Congress claiming the ceremony validates its long-standing allegations of serious wrongdoing at the Ram temple.
Uttar Pradesh Congress president Ajay Rai said the ritual itself amounted to an acknowledgement that grave irregularities had taken place.
“The buddhi-shuddhi yajna has proven what we have been saying since the beginning – that something hugely wrong has taken place in Ayodhya. I wish Lord Ram gives them the wisdom to realise their sins and atone for their mistakes,” Rai told PTI.
The ritual, which began on Wednesday, 15 July, is being led by the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust and involves the daily recitation of the Vishnu Sahasranama Stotra – the chanting of the 1,000 names of Lord Vishnu, believed by Hindus to usher in positivity, prosperity and good fortune.
Trust treasurer Govind Dev Giri, who conceived the programme, said it was intended to seek forgiveness and restore the sanctity of the temple following the donation controversy. “Following the theft of offerings, the trust has initiated a special 10-day ritual for atonement and purification across the temple premises and various gurukuls to restore the temple’s sanctity and dignity,” Giri told PTI.
He said the trust had set a target of at least 251 recitations of the Vishnu Sahasranama Stotra every day.
The ritual comes days after Giri, despite being the trust’s treasurer, publicly distanced himself from the day-to-day handling of temple donations. He had said he had no role in the counting or collection of offerings, claiming those functions were overseen by local trustees and that he learnt about the standard operating procedures only recently.
He had also maintained that all audit records were intact and insisted the truth would emerge through the ongoing investigation.
Trust member Dinendra Das told PTI Videos that the Vishnu Sahasranama Stotra was being recited to rectify the “mistakes committed at Ram Lalla’s place”. He said the Valmiki Ramayan was also being recited as part of the purification programme.
Samajwadi Party national secretary and spokesperson Abhishek Mishra questioned the significance of the exercise unless those allegedly responsible for the embezzlement participated in it.
“According to Sanatan Dharma, the purification and the atonement yajna holds no value unless those actually responsible for the embezzlement of donations at the temple themselves participate and seek forgiveness. Otherwise, this entire exercise will eventually prove to be futile and entirely cosmetic, not cosmic,” he told PTI.
The alleged donation embezzlement surfaced last month and has since snowballed into a major political controversy. A Special Investigation Team (SIT), constituted by the Uttar Pradesh government on 13 June, has so far arrested eight people associated with the counting of donations, while former trust general-secretary Champat Rai and trustee Anil Mishra resigned amid the fallout. The probe is continuing.
Giri said the investigation would establish the extent of the alleged theft and determine when and how it took place.