The opposition is preparing to intensify pressure on the Modi government over the alleged theft of donations at the Ram temple in Ayodhya after the youth-led protest over examination failures ended with Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan’s resignation.
The controversy is expected to return to the centre of parliamentary confrontation when both Houses meet next week. Opposition parties entered the Monsoon Session with the temple funds case among their main lines of attack, but the Cockroach Janta Party agitation, the march towards Parliament and the police response in Delhi pushed the issue into the background.
That calculation changed on Saturday after protest leaders withdrew their 36-day agitation following government assurances on examination reform, withdrawal of cases against demonstrators and compensation for families of students who died by suicide. Pradhan’s exit removed the opposition’s most immediate rallying point, leaving the Ayodhya investigation as a politically sensitive test of accountability.
The Supreme Court’s intervention has added urgency. Uttar Pradesh has formed a fresh Special Investigation Team headed by Inspector General Kiran S, with Deputy Inspector General Somen Verma and Ayodhya Senior Superintendent of Police Gaurav Grover as members. The team is due to submit a status report to the court on Monday, July 27.
The court transferred responsibility from local police to the new team and directed the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust to preserve donation receipts and accounts from the start of temple construction. It also cautioned political parties against turning the criminal investigation into a partisan campaign, while insisting that the allegations be examined fairly and transparently.
Eight men have been arrested after investigators examined CCTV footage from the donation-counting area. The footage allegedly showed counting personnel concealing bundles of cash in their clothes and socks. Nearly ₹80 lakh in cash has been recovered, alongside jewellery, vehicles, investment papers and other assets suspected to have been acquired with misappropriated money.
The investigation has widened beyond the arrested men. About 30 employees connected with the counting process have come under scrutiny, while revenue officials have been asked to examine possible land purchases involving relatives and associates of the accused. Investigators are also reviewing bank transactions, financial records and the handling of cash and valuables before deposits were made.
The scandal has exposed deeper questions about governance within the trust. A private audit commissioned in 2020 warned that donation management lacked systematic records, defined responsibility and multiple checks at transaction and data-entry stages. It recommended a formal standard operating procedure, stronger accounting controls and better oversight of jewellery and other offerings.
Those warnings have sharpened opposition allegations that the case reflects institutional failure rather than an isolated theft. Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge have urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to order an independent examination of the trust’s finances, make its accounts public and hold all responsible officials accountable. Opposition parties have also demanded a complete overhaul of the trust.
The BJP has rejected the campaign as political opportunism and argued that the investigation should proceed without attempts to exploit religious sentiment. The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh has called for restraint, while trust officials have described the episode as shameful and painful for devotees.
The trust has accepted the resignations of general secretary Champat Rai and trustee Anil Mishra, appointed an interim secretary and begun creating a chief executive post. It has also introduced a new cash-counting team and a two-shift system under State Bank of India supervision. A nine-member Dharmik Committee has been constituted to guide religious and spiritual affairs.
