New Delhi: Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Thursday, said the Mayor of Ayodhya, Rishikesh Upadhyay, was involved in illegal land deals around the Ram Temple premises in Ayodhya.
"Donations to the Ram Mandir Trust were collected from across the country. Even poor households contributed. It is a matter of faith and that is being played with," she said.
She alleged the misuse of Rs 30 crore worth of Trust's money donated by the poor and common people. She also shared the details of purported registered land deeds related to the Ram temple in Ayodhya.
"The pieces of land of Dalits, which could not have been purchased, were usurped. Secondly, a few plots that were cheap were sold at high prices. This means that the donations were misused for corruption," she alleged.
"Two portions of the same land were sold at vastly different prices amounting to crores within minutes. The sale deed bore signatures of RSS leader and Ram Mandir trustee Anil Mishra and Ayodhya Mayor Rishikesh Upadhyay as witnesses," she added.
The Uttar Pradesh government on Wednesday had ordered a probe into the alleged purchase of land within a five-kilometre radius of the proposed Ram temple in Ayodhya by politicians and government officials.
On this, Priyanka said the probe is being conducted by district officials. But they cannot investigate the Mayor. "The Trust was created based on an order of the high court. Hence, the probe should also be conducted by the high court," she said.
Mayawati, a former UP Chief Minister, urged the Supreme Court to take note of the media report and order a high-level inquiry into the land deals."It is a very serious matter. My party would want the Supreme Court to take notice and if the allegations are true, the state government needs to get the deals cancelled," she told reporters in Lucknow when asked to comment on the report.
Addressing a press conference here, Priyanka said the Supreme Court should take suo motu cognisance of the matter as the Ram temple in Ayodhya is being built following its order.
She also questioned the "silence" of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath over the alleged corruption by temple trust members, BJP leaders and officials in buying land for the temple.
BJP leaders have "sold the sentiments, faith and religion" by indulging in loot and misuse of donations received for the Ram temple, she charged.
A news report has claimed that MLAs, Mayors, relatives of the Commissioner, SDM and DIG bought land in Ayodhya after the Supreme Court announced the verdict in the Ramjanmabhoomi-Babri Masjid dispute, clearing the way for construction of the Ram temple.
"The moral responsibility on these donations, given out of faith, is of the Prime Minister and the Chief Minister. You cannot hurt the faith of people," she said.
Mentioning the October 3 Lakhimpur violence during a farmers' protest in which Union minister Ajay Mishra's son is the main accused, she said, "The father of the accused is a minister and he is not sacked and no official can probe this."
"Here too, no official will probe as the mayor is a signatory to the land deed. This shows the mindset of the government. Whenever such a crime or corruption takes place, they do not want a true and fair probe, because they all know the truth and probably they are part of it too," she said.
Asked if Congress will move court in this regard, she said a decision will be taken after consultations.