Do not try to influence temple probe: Akhilesh | Lucknow News

Do not try to influence temple probe: Akhilesh
Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav

Lucknow: Pointing fingers at recent ‘in person visits’ to Ram Temple in Ayodhya, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Friday said attempts should not be made to influence the direction of the probe into the donation scam being conducted by the three-member Special Investigation Team (SIT) which was already under scrutiny for its controversial members and a marred reputation.Akhilesh’s statement came hours after chief minister Yogi Adityanath reached Ram Temple in Ayodhya to mark the birthday of Mahant Nritya Gopal Das – the head of the Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Sthal. Addressing a gathering there the CM attacked the opposition for making unsubstantiated statements regarding alleged irregularities in collection of donations at Ram Temple.The CM’s visit came barely two days after Nripendra Mishra (chairman of the Ram Temple construction committee) visited Ram Temple on Wednesday and on Thursday and told media that he could vouch for the integrity of temple trust general secretary Champat Rai. Nripendra Mishra is a 1967 batch UP cadre IAS who was principal secretary to Prime Minister Narendra Modi from 2014 to 2019.Responding to these visits Akhilesh on Friday morning took to X asking if an SIT should be constituted to probe the ‘record breaking’ Ayodhya visits. Later he raised fingers at these “in person” visits stating that “no attempts should be made to influence the probe by the SIT which was already being looked at with suspicion because of its controversial members and blotched image”.In an apparent reference to CM’s speech during his visit to Ram Temple earlier in the day, Akhilesh questioned if the trip to Ayodhya was unplanned or scheduled the day the three-member SIT was constituted.“Why was today’s speech less of a statement but more of a threat? Why are sources saying that the visit was scheduled in haste at the behest of the party functionaries in Ayodhya to save the political ground in temple town and beyond because not only in Ayodhya division, BJP is set to be wiped off from the entire state,” Akhilesh said in a statement issued on Friday evening. “Why did he (CM) not visit the special people whom he did meet on all his earlier visits,” Akhilesh asked in his written statement.He said people are not only asking for a threadbare probe but also want details of the gems and jewellery that were donated by devotees and were now missing along with cash donations and Shilas (consecrated bricks) made of gold and silver.

Leave a Comment