Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) National Convener Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday launched a sharp attack on the BJP over the alleged Ayodhya Ram Temple donation embezzlement case, accusing the government of delaying action despite allegedly being aware of the matter.
Addressing the controversy, Kejriwal questioned the formation of the Special Investigation Team (SIT) and alleged that the government acted only after the issue attracted widespread public attention.
Referring to the government’s response, Kejriwal said, “You knew everything, yet you remained silent like ‘Dhritarashtra’. You kept a blindfold on, and only when the situation became untenable, when the water rose above your head and the issue gained significant traction, you set up an SIT merely to pull the wool over people’s eyes.”
The AAP chief also questioned the legal basis of the investigation, arguing that an SIT could not have been constituted before a formal criminal case was registered.
“How can an SIT be formed without an FIR? At that point, no FIR had even been registered. An SIT simply cannot exist without an FIR. You constituted an SIT solely to deceive the public,” he alleged.
The remarks come amid the ongoing investigation into the alleged embezzlement of donations collected at the Ayodhya Ram Temple. The Uttar Pradesh government had constituted a Special Investigation Team to probe the allegations after the controversy escalated.
The case has since gathered political momentum, with opposition parties demanding greater transparency in the investigation while questioning the handling of temple donations.
Meanwhile, investigators continue to examine evidence, including CCTV footage, security records and donation management procedures, as the probe into the alleged financial irregularities progresses. Authorities have also arrested several individuals linked to the donation counting process as part of the ongoing investigation.
Kejriwal’s remarks are the latest in a series of political reactions surrounding the case, which has triggered a war of words between the ruling BJP and opposition parties over accountability and the conduct of the investigation.
