BJP, RSS, VHP have hijacked Lord Ram: Former MP

“BJP, RSS and Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) have hijacked Lord Ram for political gain,” said V. S. Ugrappa, former MP and Congress leader.

“They have no real devotion to Lord Ram. That is why none of the leaders are talking about the alleged misuse of funds in Ayodhya Ram temple. By their political opportunism, they have insulted Hinduism,” he said in Karwar on July 12.

He told reporters in Belagavi that none of the 11 members of the temple trust, including a retired government officer, were able to prevent the alleged theft. The trust received donations of thousands of crores of rupees from people, and various government agencies and public sector undertakings. “But some members of the trust and its head are involved in this alleged loot. I want to ask why the RSS, BJP and Vishwa Hindu Parishad have remained silent on this issue. Even the PM, who inaugurated the temple, has remained silent. I demand that Mr. Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah take moral responsibility and resign.

“The Uttar Pradesh police have arrested only low-level staff, like those involved in counting. They have not touched the big leaders behind the accused. The head and other members of the trust have resigned. The leaders of the BJP, RSS and VHP should apologise to the people of the country.”

Other issues highlighted

He complained that some ineligible people were getting reservation benefits by producing fake ST caste certificates. “This is causing injustice to the ST community. Members of Parliament and other leaders are silent about this,” he said.

He said allegations of the BJP against the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls in Karnataka were false and baseless. There is nothing wrong in the government of Karnataka giving permanent residency certificates to those who have no other document, he said.

Prakash Desai, Narasimha Valmiki, Nagaraj Talwar, Suresh Kalloli, and Jagadish Olekar were among those present at the event.