Gold-plated 'Ramcharitmanas' missing from Ram Mandir? Trouble mounts for Champat Rai as temple trust meets today
Champat Rai, and another Trust member, Anil Mishra, submitted their resignation following the donation theft controversy at the Ram Temple
The Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust will convene a meeting on Monday, with the venue moved to the Ram Temple complex due to security concerns, to address the resignations of General Secretary Champat Rai and member Anil Mishra amidst a donation theft controversy and fresh allegations concerning the disappearance of a gold-plated Ramcharitmanas, which the Trust has refuted as safe despite the donor, former IAS officer S. Lakshmi Narayan, claiming it is missing and alleging disrespectful treatment from Champat Rai when inquiring. While Rai and Mishra are expected to abstain from the meeting, which will not require voting for resignation acceptance, the members will focus on restructuring the Trust's functioning and may attempt to persuade Rai and Mishra to retain their positions, with some members already arriving in Ayodhya for the proceedings that will also include online participation from absent members and representatives from saffron outfits.
The Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust will convene a meeting on Monday, with the venue moved to the Ram Temple complex due to security concerns, to address the resignations of General Secretary Champat Rai and member Anil Mishra amidst a donation theft controversy and fresh allegations concerning the disappearance of a gold-plated Ramcharitmanas, which the Trust has refuted as safe despite the donor, former IAS officer S. Lakshmi Narayan, claiming it is missing and alleging disrespectful treatment from Champat Rai when inquiring. While Rai and Mishra are expected to abstain from the meeting, which will not require voting for resignation acceptance, the members will focus on restructuring the Trust's functioning and may attempt to persuade Rai and Mishra to retain their positions, with some members already arriving in Ayodhya for the proceedings that will also include online participation from absent members and representatives from saffron outfits.
The Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust will convene a meeting on Monday, with the venue moved to the Ram Temple complex due to security concerns, to address the resignations of General Secretary Champat Rai and member Anil Mishra amidst a donation theft controversy and fresh allegations concerning the disappearance of a gold-plated Ramcharitmanas, which the Trust has refuted as safe despite the donor, former IAS officer S. Lakshmi Narayan, claiming it is missing and alleging disrespectful treatment from Champat Rai when inquiring. While Rai and Mishra are expected to abstain from the meeting, which will not require voting for resignation acceptance, the members will focus on restructuring the Trust's functioning and may attempt to persuade Rai and Mishra to retain their positions, with some members already arriving in Ayodhya for the proceedings that will also include online participation from absent members and representatives from saffron outfits.
Amid fresh allegations surrounding the gold-plated Ramcharitmanas, the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust will meet on Monday to decide on the resignations of its General Secretary, Champat Rai, and member, Anil Mishra, following the donation theft controversy at the Ram Temple.
Amid security concerns, the venue has been shifted from Mani Ramdas Chhavni, the seat of the Trust president, Nritya Gopal Das, to the Ram Temple complex.
Both Rai and Mishra are likely to abstain from the meeting.
In a fresh statement on Sunday, treasurer Swami Govind Dev Giri said that, barring two instances involving cash donations, he has not been involved in other transactions.
Since there is no need for a voting process to accept the resignations, the only matter that will be discussed and debated by the members is the restructuring of the Trust's overall functioning.
There is also a possibility that the trust members could collectively decide to convince Rai and Mishra to continue with their roles.
Trust members Swami Vasudevanand Saraswati from Prayagraj, Parmanand Giri Maharaj from Haridwar, and Treasurer Swami Govind Dev Giri from Pune arrived in Ayodhya on Sunday to participate in the meeting.
Those unable to attend physically will join the meeting online to provide their feedback. Four additional ex officio members, along with invited representatives from saffron outfits, are also slated to join the proceedings.
Amid the ongoing donation theft controversy, fresh allegations have surfaced regarding the disappearance of a gold-plated Ramcharitmanas from the Ram Temple. However, the Ram Janmabhoomi Trust dismissed the claims, maintaining that the artefact is completely safe.
The gold-plated copy of the book, worth around Rs 5 crore, was donated by S. Lakshmi Narayan, a former IAS officer and home secretary in the central government. On Saturday, Narayan alleged the disappearance of the book from the temple.
He also claimed that when Champat Rai was questioned about the matter, no satisfactory response was received.
The former IAS officer also alleged that Rai behaved "disrespectfully" when he arrived in Ayodhya to inquire about the matter. He claimed that during his initial attempt to meet Rai, he was forced to wait outside for nearly nine hours.
Narayan stated in a TV interview that he had repeatedly requested that the golden Ramcharitmanas be displayed in a suitable location, but his requests were ignored.