Former chief minister H.D. Kumaraswamy on Wednesday reiterated that the volunteers of the Ram Mandir donation drive were marking (by pasting stickers) the houses of donors similar to what the Nazis in Germany did during the Hitler regime. The JDS leader, who drew flak from BJP leaders for his earlier remark, clarified that he was not against building the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya, but was only opposed to large scale corruption in the name of Lord Rama.
Addressing a press meet at JP Bhavan in Bengaluru, he said, "I am not opposed to building the Ram temple in Ayodhya. The Devegowda family is god-fearing. But we are against anyone appropriating religion and god for political gains. This is religious corruption."
"I am only pointing out the lapses and loot in the name of Ram temple. Has the BJP given the accounts of the money collected in 1991 (for Ram Janmabhoomi Rath Yatra)? Has the government or the VHP given license to these so-called volunteers to collect funds? I don't know if all the volunteers are carrying genuine or fake receipt books. Some people came to my house and were demanding for funds. The tone was intimidating and I can only imagine how these elements are behaving with the common man," said Kumaraswamy adding that pasting stickers posed a threat to social harmony.
Demanding to know why the volunteers had to paste stickers and mark the houses of donors and divide the society, Kumaraswamy once again compared the RSS to the Nazi regime when Jews were being singled out. "Marking the houses is similar to what the Nazis did in Germany during the regime of Hitler when lakhs of people lost their lives. Historians say that the RSS took birth at the same time when the Nazi Party was founded in Germany. The fundamental rights promised in our Constitution are being snatched away in the country now. One cannot freely express himself. This is nothing but an undeclared emergency," charged Kumaraswamy, who suggested that the donation drive could be online to avoid misuse and misappropriation of funds.
"The trust can put up posters and give out advertisements seeking donations instead of the door-to-door collection. Today, every common man has a Jan Dhan account as the BJP claims. So, let them make donations online to rule out misuse of funds. I am only demanding transparency and accountability. I am not making a political point here," said Kumaraswamy adding his party was not built by raking up emotive issues.
Close on the heels of Kumaraswamy's remarks, Karnataka Congress leader and former chief minister Siddaramaiah said he would not donate for the construction of Ram Mandir at Ayodhya. "I will not donate for the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya as it is on disputed land. I will, instead, donate to build Ram temple anywhere else."
The Congress leader also expressed apprehensions over the donation drive saying, "People raising public funds should maintain transparency. Will the BJP, which refused to divulge details of the funding to PMCARES fund, readily give accounts of the funds collected for the temple?"
Meanwhile, Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa defended the Ram Mandir donation drive saying, "The volunteers are going door-to-door to collect funds and not just Hindus, but also Muslims and Christians are donating for the temple. No one is marking any house. Without knowing the reality, one should not indulge in loose talk."
Pramod Mutalik, chief of Sri Rama Sene said, "(In the) last two months, we have held grassroot level meetings and fixed the responsibility. Within 15 days, the collection has touched Rs 1,500 crore, which is proof of people's trust in us. The accounts are clean and the funds collected during the drive will be deposited only in three banks—SBI, PNB and BOB, which will go directly to the Ram Mandir trust. There is absolute transparency. Politicians are corrupt, so they suspect everybody else is also like them. This is not a temple for any political party, but of Lord Rama's devotees."
The Vishwa Hindu Parishad slammed Kumaraswamy's statements as "highly irresponsible." "The volunteers of various organisations, including the VHP, are reaching out to all sections of the society. The society is responding positively. In fact, our volunteers do not demand money from people as it is only an outreach programme to enable the whole country to make their contribution to the grand temple as everyone believes Sri Ram is the identity of Bharat and would want to emulate his ideals. VHP also condemns Kumaraswamy's unwarranted remarks on the patriotic organisation RSS while expressing concern over degradation in public discourse by a former CM," said Basavaraj, organising secretary, VHP, Karnataka.
The donation drive started by voluntary organisations at the behest of Shri Ram Janmbhoomi Teerth Kshetra on January 15, has already collected Rs 1,500 crore and will conclude on February 27.
