India’s ruling party risks being sucked into Uttar Pradesh temple donation probe row

An investigation into alleged financial irregularities at a Hindu temple closely associated with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is threatening to tarnish one of his party’s signature projects.

Two office bearers at the Ram Temple in Ayodhya have resigned, while police arrested eight officials of the trust managing the site after allegations of embezzlement surfaced earlier this month, a person familiar with the matter said, who asked not to be identified because the investigation was ongoing.

Monthly cash donations ranged from 40 million rupees (US$422,000) to 100 million rupees.

The allegations include the theft of cash, gold and silver jewellery donated by devotees. In India, worshippers routinely offer money and precious metal as an act of devotion, and some donations may not be individually recorded before being deposited into temple collections. The trust did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The temple, built at the disputed Ayodhya site, after the Supreme Court’s 2019 verdict, fulfils a decades-old campaign spearheaded by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its ideological parent, the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh, that helped transform the party into a national political force.

The investigation into the management of a place of worship revered by millions of Hindus comes as the party prepares for a crucial election in Uttar Pradesh expected later this year.