Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Saturday launched a sharp attack on the Samajwadi Party (SP) and Congress, alleging that temple donations were misused during previous governments and accusing the opposition of consistently opposing Ayodhya’s development and questioning the faith associated with Bhagwan Ram.
Addressing a public gathering in Ayodhya, Adityanath claimed that the Samajwadi Party had taken control of temples during its tenure and diverted donations made by devotees.
“Samajwadi Party leaders used to take over temples and pocket the money donated by devotees. Donations offered at temples were used to build mosque walls,” the Chief Minister alleged.
His remarks come amid the ongoing investigation into the alleged theft of donations at the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya, an issue that has triggered a political confrontation between the BJP and opposition parties.
The Chief Minister also accused the Congress and Samajwadi Party of questioning the existence and authenticity of Bhagwan Ram in the past while opposing the construction of the Ram Mandir.
“Congress and the Samajwadi Party used to question Bhagwan Ram. After the BJP government came to power, the long-pending dream of constructing the Ram Mandir was fulfilled,” Adityanath said.
Referring to an alleged incident from 2003, Adityanath revived the BJP’s long-standing charge that an attempt had been made to organise namaz near the Hanumangarhi temple complex during the Samajwadi Party government led by Mulayam Singh Yadav.
Questioning the incident, the Chief Minister asked whether similar religious practices would be permitted inside a mosque and criticised what he described as appeasement politics.
Adityanath also targeted the opposition over Ayodhya’s transformation in recent years. He said political opponents had once mocked the idea of an international airport in the temple city but were now unable to accept its development.
“No one imagined Ayodhya would have an international airport. Today it has one, but some people are unhappy because it has been named after Maharishi Valmiki,” he said.
The Chief Minister further attacked the Congress and Samajwadi Party over the Waqf issue, questioning their silence on allegations related to Waqf properties.
He alleged that large tracts of land held under Waqf had been sold while landless and weaker sections could have benefited from those properties.
The remarks come amid continuing political sparring over the Ram Mandir donation controversy, with the BJP and opposition parties trading allegations over accountability, temple donations and the Ayodhya development narrative.
