New Delhi (Gurpreet Singh): Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) National Convenor Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday questioned how Prime Minister Narendra Modi could have remained unaware of the irregularities in the Shri Ram Mandir’s land deals, construction and long going ‘Chanda-Chori’ (theft of offerings). Pointing out that the Trust was constituted by the Prime Minister himself, with every member personally selected by him, he asked if it is actually possible for the Prime Minister to not know?
Highlighting PM Modi’s silence over the issue, the AAP Chief revealed that the Special Investigation Team (SIT) was constituted only after the matter drew nationwide attention, with the sole purpose of misleading the public and deflecting scrutiny. Against this backdrop, he questioned whether the Prime Minister was protecting the big names behind the ‘Chanda Chori’ at the Shri Ram Mandir. Arvind Kejriwal further asked whether the public could still believe that the real perpetrators would be brought to justice, asserting that the sequence of events instead points to an attempt to shield those responsible.
Addressing a press conference alongside AAP Delhi Unit President Saurabh Bharadwaj, AAP National Convenor Arvind Kejriwal stated, “Everyone now accepts that ‘chadhava-chori’ (theft of offerings) was done at Shri Ram Mandir. But will the real culprits, the influential and big names involved, ever be punished? Will they be arrested? Will any action be taken against them? Everywhere, people kept saying that PM Modi would spare no one and let no one escape.”
The AAP Supremo asked the people of the country whether they still believe PM Modi will ensure that the real ‘chanda-chors’ are punished. “I cannot say, and I have no evidence, that any money reached PM Modi. I will not comment on that. But the entire sequence of events certainly shows that PM Modi left no stone unturned in suppressing the matter, covering it up and protecting those responsible,” he pointed out.
Arvind Kejriwal continued, “The Prime Minister personally constituted the trust. Every member of that trust was personally chosen by him. The trust consists of his own people. Champat Rai is considered to be very close to the Prime Minister. PM Modi appointed Champat Rai as the General Secretary and the key authority of the Shri Ram Mandir. He is regarded as the Prime Minister’s ‘own man’.”
Questioning irregularities from the beginning, he asked, “In 2021, there were massive land scams. A member of the BJP purchased land from the Pathak family for ₹2 crore and sold the same land to the Mandir Trust for ₹18 crore just 10 minutes later. In just 10 minutes, land worth ₹2 crore became worth ₹18 crore. Did the Prime Minister not know about this? The whole world knew. It was widely reported in the media. Similarly, land worth ₹3 crore was sold to the Trust for ₹24 crore. Land worth ₹9 crore was sold for ₹55 crore. The Mandir Trust purchased land worth ₹14 crore for ₹95 crore. Did the Prime Minister still not know? All this is in the public domain.”
Referring to the construction of the Mandir, the AAP Chief stated, “Engineers associated with the construction have alleged that they were asked to pay 40% commission on tenders. Did the Prime Minister not know about this? Theft was caught on CCTV 70 times in just 40 days. Did he not know? Eight months of CCTV footage were deleted. Did he not know? The ‘chanda-chori’ continued for such a long period. Did he still not know?”
He pointed out, “There was even an officer from the Union Home Ministry on the Trust. Did nobody inform him? The Prime Minister knows every booth in this country. He knows which voter supports which party, whose name should be deleted during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process and whose name should be added. If he now says he had no knowledge of this ‘chanda-chori’, we are not prepared to believe it. The Prime Minister knew about it.”
Arvind Kejriwal further said, “I have learnt from sources that the Intelligence Bureau (IB) submitted at least 12 reports to the Prime Minister explaining how large-scale irregularities were taking place in construction, land transactions and offerings at the Shri Ram Mandir. He knew everything, yet remained silent like Dhritarashtra, choosing to turn a blind eye.”
He affirmed, “When the issue became impossible to ignore, an SIT was constituted merely to mislead the public. How can a Special Investigation Team (SIT) be formed without an FIR? At that point, no FIR had even been registered. An SIT cannot legally exist without an FIR. The SIT was formed only to throw dust in people’s eyes. The very day it was announced, the country understood that the Prime Minister was trying to cover up the matter and shield the real culprits.”
Questioning the investigation, the AAP Supremo asserted, “After that, a fake FIR was registered. Eight minor individuals were arrested and sent to jail. Even then, the police did not seek their custody and sent them directly to judicial custody. In any theft case, the police normally seek custody to interrogate the accused, recover the stolen property, identify who instructed them, determine whether there was a mastermind and ascertain the full extent of the theft. Here, none of that happened. They were assured not to worry because they would get bail in a few days. What exactly is happening, Prime Minister?”
Referring to the land scam investigation, Arvind Kejriwal said, “When our MP Sanjay Singh approached the SIT with documents relating to the land scam, the response was shocking. The SIT said it was not investigating the land scam at all and was looking only into the theft of offerings. Then what exactly is this SIT investigating? If it is not probing the construction scam and the land scam, who will?”
“In 2021, the Uttar Pradesh government also formed an SIT to investigate the land scam. That inquiry simply disappeared. Nobody knows when its report came, where it went or what happened to it. Now another SIT has been formed in the same manner. In 2021, there were no arrests, no FIRs and nobody went to jail. The same fate awaits this SIT. The effort is to protect everyone involved,” he further asserted.
Arvind Kejriwal added, “We are being told that those who resigned are still running the Mandir. On paper, they have resigned, but in reality the same people continue to control and manage it. One of their senior leaders, Brij Bhushan, recently said on social media that if he spoke, many powerful names would emerge and that he feared the consequences. Which are these names that even Brij Bhushan is afraid to reveal? Baba Bageshwar Dham also said that very powerful people are involved and that speaking out could put him in trouble as well.”
“When such influential people are afraid to name those responsible, it is clear that the eight people who have been arrested were only meant to mislead the public. The real players are someone else, while those arrested are merely pawns,” he noted.
Addressing PM Modi directly, the AAP Chief said, “The people of this country want to know whom you are protecting, why you are protecting them and what compels you to do so. The faith of crores of people has been deeply hurt.”
The Prime Minister must tell the country whether he was unaware of these irregularities:
- A BJP member purchased land for ₹2 crore and sold it to the Trust for ₹18 crore within 10 minutes.
- The Trust purchased land worth ₹3 crore for ₹24 crore.
- The Trust purchased land worth ₹9 crore for ₹55 crore.
- The Trust purchased land worth ₹14 crore for ₹95 crore.
- A 40% commission was allegedly demanded on Mandir construction tenders.
- ‘Chanda-Chori’ was captured on CCTV 70 times in 40 days.
- Eight months of CCTV footage were deleted.
- ‘Chanda-Chori’ continued for a prolonged period.
- There was an officer from the Union Home Ministry on the Trust. How, then, did you remain unaware?
