The saints of Ayodhya have registered their protest against the alleged fraud in the land deals for the Ram Mandir and submitted a petition to Lord Hanuman—the protector of Ayodhya.
Prominent saints and members of Hindutva organisations did 11 readings of the Hanuman Chalisa at the Sankat Mochan Temple sited on the banks of Saryu and then submitted a petition to the deity.
The petition addressed to the Monkey God says that some black-hearted people have entered the Ram Mandir Trust. “Their acts of corruption are damaging the dignity, character and values of the God you venerate,” it says.
The petition addresses Hanuman ji as ‘omniscient’.
“You are the guardian of Ram’s durbar and the king of Ayodhya dham. Those who are steeped in corruption are betraying the God and his bhakts. Unmask and punish them and save this holy land from taint”, reads the petition.
Mahanat Dharm Das of the Ani Nirwani Akhara said, “If there is corruption in the Trust, it should be thoroughly investigated. When other parties indulge in corruption huge hue and cry is made. But when there are charges against oneself then why this silence?”
He also said, “The Trust is being run by the Centre, so if the Centre remains silent on this then it means some level of involvement on their part too”.
Another mahant, Janmejaya Sharan said, “If there is nothing to hide, why not submit to an inquiry?”
Swami Dilip Das Tyagi said, “We have asked both the court and the government to conduct an inquiry. Both have been silent and this raises suspicion. To have a blot before the grand temple could be built is shameful.”
The saints have said that if their demands are not met they will do a padyatra (march) around the city and also a jal satyagraha for which they will invite senior BJP Leaders Ram Krishna Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi who now lie side-lined.
Santosh Dubey, an accused of the Babri Masjid demolition, said that since the Trust was formed on the directions of the Supreme Court of India, there should be no problem in the apex court taking suo moto notice of the issue and constituting an investigative committee. “If this is not done then grave consequences will have to be paid by the fake Ram bhakts”, he said.