Trinamool Congress Rajya Sabha leader Derek O’Brien on Friday (July 10, 2026) questioned the Enforcement Directorate freezing three bank accounts of the party, asking when it would freeze “temple funds”, in an apparent reference to the alleged embezzlement of donations at the Ram temple in Ayodhya.

“ED freezes TMC’s 3 bank accounts with HDFC. When will ED freeze temple funds?” Mr. O’Brien, Trinamool’s national joint secretary, said in a post on X.

The remarks came amid the Opposition’s demand for a judicial probe into the alleged financial irregularities in the Ram temple’s donation management system.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Wednesday (July 8) said it has frozen three bank accounts of the Trinamool Congress (TMC), with deposits worth ₹440 crore, under the anti-money laundering law following searches in an alleged funds misappropriation case.

The central agency said in a statement that the orders were issued under Section 17 (1A) of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

The section authorises the ED to freeze an asset, such as a bank deposit, when it is not practicable to seize such a property, and it is essential that the asset is not transferred or otherwise dealt with.

At a time when the debate over the change in administrative structure of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya gathers pace, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) on Monday (July 6, 2026) reiterated its opposition to government control of the shrine. The organisation, however, said it had no objection to appointing a professional Chief Executive Officer (CEO), provided the person was not a serving bureaucrat and was accountable to the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust.

Speaking to The Hindu, VHP joint general secretary Surender Jain said, “We are against government control of the Ram Temple. We will not allow it at any cost. This has been our stance since the beginning, not only for the Ram Temple in Ayodhya but for all other Hindu temples in India.”

Mr. Jain said the organisation, which had long campaigned for freeing Hindu temples from government control, was not opposed to the appointment of a professional to oversee the temple’s day-to-day administration.

“We are not against appointing a professional to manage the day-to-day affairs of the Ram Mandir, but the person must not be a serving bureaucrat and should be accountable to the Trust, not the government,” he said, adding that the CEO should be appointed by the Trust rather than the government.

Mr. Jain’s remarks came on the day when Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust accepted the resignation of its general secretary Champat Rai, amid the ongoing Special Investigation Team (SIT) probe into the alleged donation theft.

The call for appointment of a CEO was first made by the Ram Temple Construction Committee Chairman and former IAS officer Nripendra Misra, who advocated adopting a Tirupati-like model with a professional CEO to oversee daily operations.

“No one is asking that the trust deed or bylaws should be changed, but there must be a CEO with experience of working in Uttar Pradesh,” Mr. Misra had said, adding such an officer should work under the Trust.