Ayodhya : Uttar Pradesh Congress chief Ajay Rai on Tuesday alleged that he and other party leaders were arrested by the police while on their way to offer prayers at the Ram Janmabhoomi temple in Ayodhya, claiming they were being harassed and prevented from visiting the shrine.
Rai alleged they were forcibly arrested by the police late Monday night and taken to the guest house of Acharya Narendra Deva University of Agriculture and Technology.
The development comes at a time when the Ram Mandir has been making headlines due to the alleged embezzlement of temple donations.
In a video, Rai said, "We all intended to visit Ayodhya to seek the blessings of Lord Shri Ram. We had formed a delegation led by me to offer prayers and seek darshan. We also wanted to pray to the Lord regarding the disrepute brought to this holy site by the RSS and BJP through the theft of offerings and donations, as well as land scams...Our colleagues and I were placed under house arrest."
He asserted that they are prepared to go to jail to exercise their right to visit the shrine. "Around 11:30 PM, the police forcibly arrested us and brought us to the guest house of Acharya Narendra Dev University. We are being subjected to harassment and are being prevented from visiting the temple...We are prepared to do whatever it takes, even if it means going to jail or giving up food and water for a few days to ensure we get to offer our prayers," he further added.
Further, Ajay Rai's wife, Rina Rai, alleged that the BJP government was trying to silence her husband and asserted that the Congress would continue its fight against the alleged "offering theft" at the Ram Janmabhoomi temple.
In a post on X, Ajay Rai shared, "The BJP government is ready to stoop to any depths to silence my husband's voice! After being taken away in a police jeep, now our colleagues are being misled with false information."
"Our fight against the 'offering thieves' will continue. If anything happens to my husband, the full responsibility will lie with this unjust BJP government," the post read. Meanwhile, State Minister Om Prakash Rajbhar said, "...This kind of drama is being done to create a controversy."
On Monday, a local court in Ayodhya remanded all the accused in the alleged donation scam to 14 days of judicial custody. The court's decision follows a high-intensity investigation by the Uttar Pradesh Police into reports of financial irregularities and the misappropriation of funds and offerings at the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi temple.
The case has triggered a massive political slugfest in Uttar Pradesh, with the ruling BJP and Opposition parties trading allegations over the handling of the temple's finances, even as the Special Investigation Team (SIT) probe continues.