Congress Legislative Party leader Vijay Wadettiwar on Friday, 10 July mounted a sharp challenge to the 'Shri Ram Mandir Devasthan Trust Management, Ramtek Bill' in the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly, demanding that the legislation be referred to a Joint Committee before passage. Wadettiwar argued that the Bill, tabled on the final day of a three-week Assembly session, was being rushed through without adequate scrutiny of its provisions.

Key Objections Raised

At the heart of Wadettiwar's opposition was the proposed inclusion of public representatives, MLAs, ministers, and mayors on the temple's Trust Board. He contended that elected officials, preoccupied with constituency duties, would be ill-suited to oversee the daily administration of a site of such religious and historical significance. He instead called for the Board to be constituted exclusively of devout, service-oriented individuals with unblemished records.

Wadettiwar also raised a pointed objection to a provision allowing Trust members to draw financial allowances from temple funds. 'Why should members receive allowances from the donations made by devotees? Serving at Lord Ram's temple should be driven by a pure sense of devotion and service,' he said.

Transparency and Eligibility Demands

The Congress leader insisted on strict disqualification criteria, arguing that anyone with a single criminal case, corruption charge, or record of moral turpitude must be barred from the Board. Drawing a parallel to reported financial irregularities at the Ram Temple in Ayodhya, he stressed that public donations must be handled with absolute accountability.

To underscore his position, Wadettiwar quoted former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee: 'If a guard dog doesn't bark at thieves, it means it knows the thieves.' He noted that characterising critics of the Bill as 'hired people' or using derogatory labels did not diminish the legitimacy of the legislative concerns being raised.

Why the Timing Drew Scrutiny

Wadettiwar questioned the Maharashtra government's urgency in advancing the legislation on the session's closing day. He pointed out that the existing court-appointed committee managing the Ramtek Temple had been functioning without allegations of mismanagement or financial irregularities, raising the question of what necessitated a new Trust Board at this stage. 'What is the necessity of appointing a new Trust Board now? Bringing politics into temple management shakes the faith of the devotees,' he said.

Heritage and What Comes Next

Wadettiwar emphasised that the Ramtek Temple, representing thousands of years of tradition and heritage, deserved a governance framework centred on conservation, preservation, and reconstruction — entirely free of political interference. He urged the House to refer the Bill to a Joint Committee so that all relevant stakeholders could be consulted before the legislation is finalised. The government's response to the referral demand was not immediately available.