Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray has accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of allegedly misappropriating funds donated to the Ayodhya Ram Temple to engineer defections of MPs and MLAs, drawing a parallel to "Operation Tiger" which saw six of his party's MPs join Eknath Shinde's faction. This accusation follows the national attention drawn to the temple due to alleged embezzlement of donations, leading to an FIR on June 25 based on a preliminary SIT report and the arrest of eight individuals involved in the donation-counting process, with significant cash and precious metals recovered. Key accused Avinash Shukla, from whom the largest cash recovery was made, is in police custody, while temple officials Champat Rai and Anil Mishra have reportedly resigned pending a Trust meeting.

Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray has accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of allegedly misappropriating funds donated to the Ayodhya Ram Temple to engineer defections of MPs and MLAs, drawing a parallel to "Operation Tiger" which saw six of his party's MPs join Eknath Shinde's faction. This accusation follows the national attention drawn to the temple due to alleged embezzlement of donations, leading to an FIR on June 25 based on a preliminary SIT report and the arrest of eight individuals involved in the donation-counting process, with significant cash and precious metals recovered. Key accused Avinash Shukla, from whom the largest cash recovery was made, is in police custody, while temple officials Champat Rai and Anil Mishra have reportedly resigned pending a Trust meeting.

Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray has accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of allegedly misappropriating funds donated to the Ayodhya Ram Temple to engineer defections of MPs and MLAs, drawing a parallel to "Operation Tiger" which saw six of his party's MPs join Eknath Shinde's faction. This accusation follows the national attention drawn to the temple due to alleged embezzlement of donations, leading to an FIR on June 25 based on a preliminary SIT report and the arrest of eight individuals involved in the donation-counting process, with significant cash and precious metals recovered. Key accused Avinash Shukla, from whom the largest cash recovery was made, is in police custody, while temple officials Champat Rai and Anil Mishra have reportedly resigned pending a Trust meeting.

Launching a scathing attack on the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray reportedly asked if the money stolen from the Ayodhya Ram Temple was being used to engineer defections of MPs and MLAs.

Lambasting the party in power in the Centre for the temple making news for the wrong reasons, the former Maharashtra Chief Minister reportedly alleged that the money from the holy shrine was being used to break the BJP's rivals.

"Loot is taking place. MLAs and MPs are being poached, and it is being called an 'operation'. Is the BJP now carrying out an 'Operation Ram Temple'?" asked Uddhav Thackeray while addressing the media at his residence.

"The Ram Temple is being looted. Some believe that the stolen money is being used to break other political parties," he was quoted as saying by TV9 Marathi.

On June 22, six rebel MPs from Uddhav Thackeray’s Shiv Sena (UBT) joined Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena. “Operation Tiger is now complete and successful,” Shinde told the media in Mumbai.

The Ayodhya Ram Temple grabbed national headlines yet again after the alleged embezzlement of donations came to light on June 7. An FIR was registered on June 25 on the basis of a preliminary report submitted by the SIT constituted by the Uttar Pradesh government.

Eight persons associated with the temple's donation-counting process have been arrested so far, and the investigation is continuing.

Ram Temple donation 'theft'

The Ayodhya Police questioned key accused Avinash Shukla after taking him into custody.

Shukla, who was involved in donation-counting work, was arrested earlier in the case, and a local court on Thursday granted his police custody for 24 hours.

Police sources said Shukla, from whose possession the highest cash recovery in the case has been made so far, is facing intensified legal proceedings.

The SIT has so far questioned Trust general secretary Champat Rai, trustee Anil Mishra and Gopal Rao, who has been associated with the temple's construction and management.

Rai and Mishra have tendered their resignations from their respective posts, and the Trust is expected to take a decision on them at its meeting scheduled for July 6.

According to police sources, cash recoveries in the case include Rs 20.39 lakh from Shukla, Rs 18.07 lakh from Karunesh Pandey, Rs 16.82 lakh from Anukalp Mishra, Rs 14.25 lakh from Lavkush Mishra, Rs 7.32 lakh from Ramashankar Mishra and Rs 1 lakh from Ramashankar Yadav alias Tinnu.

Police have also recovered around 11 grams of gold, about 375 grams of silver and USD 1,121 during the investigation. Investigators also seized a donation box labelled "Ramrajya Kosh", bearing a Paytm QR code, from a yoga centre in Ayodhya where Shukla had allegedly been staying for nearly a decade, the sources said.

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