Ram Temple donation row: Opposition accuses Yogi of deflecting with Waqf remarks
Synopsis
The BJP's Ram Temple donation theft crisis deepened on Sunday as Opposition parties — SP, Congress, and Shiv Sena (UBT) — rejected Yogi Adityanath's Waqf counter-attack as textbook deflection. With an SIT probe underway and the Lok Sabha defeat in Ayodhya still fresh, the ruling party's attempt to reframe the narrative appears to be backfiring.
Key Takeaways
Opposition parties on 12 July accused UP CM Yogi Adityanath of deflecting from the Ram Temple donation theft row by raising Waqf land allegations.
Adityanath ordered an SIT probe into the donation theft incident but continued to attack the Opposition over minority appeasement.
SP MP Pushpendra Saroj said the BJP had won power twice in the name of Lord Ram and was now trying to divert attention from theft allegations.
Congress MP Tariq Anwar alleged the BJP used the Ram Mandir issue purely for vote-bank politics.
Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Priyanka Chaturvedi called the Waqf counter-attack 'whataboutery', noting that all Ram Temple trustees were BJP-affiliated.
The BJP's Lok Sabha defeat in Ayodhya was cited by multiple Opposition leaders as evidence of public discontent.
Opposition parties on Sunday, 12 July mounted a coordinated assault on Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath after he questioned why the Samajwadi Party (SP) and the Indian National Congress had stayed silent on the alleged illegal sale of Waqf land — remarks the Opposition said were a deliberate attempt to shift focus from donation theft allegations at the Ram Temple in Ayodhya.
Background: The Donation Theft Row
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has faced mounting criticism from Opposition parties over allegations of theft of donations at the Ram Temple in Ayodhya. The BJP has framed the controversy as an affront to Hindu sentiment. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath ordered a Special Investigation Team (SIT) probe into the incident, but continued to counter-attack, accusing Opposition parties of pursuing minority appeasement politics and insulting Hindu sentiments.
What Yogi Adityanath Said
Addressing a public event in Pratapgarh, Uttar Pradesh on Tuesday, Adityanath charged that the Congress and the SP had remained silent on alleged encroachment and illegal appropriation of Waqf properties, while seeking to target the BJP over developments in Ayodhya. The remarks were widely read as an attempt to reframe the political narrative ahead of what observers expect will be a prolonged row.
Opposition Pushback: 'Classic Whataboutery'
Samajwadi Party MP Pushpendra Saroj rejected the Chief Minister's framing. 'The Chief Minister should avoid making baseless allegations. If he has evidence, he should present it first,' he said. Saroj further argued that the BJP had built its political identity on the Ram Temple issue. 'The BJP pursued politics centred around religion, faith and the Ram Temple, and people supported them on that basis by bringing them to power twice. Today, when allegations of theft have surfaced in the name of the same Ram, the Chief Minister is trying to divert attention from the real issue,' he added.
Congress MP Tariq Anwar was sharper in his critique. 'The BJP used the Ram Mandir issue purely for vote-bank politics. They do not genuinely have sentiments for Lord Ram,' he said, adding that the matter had been before the courts since 1949 and that the judiciary's verdict had settled the dispute.
Shiv Sena (UBT) Raises Governance Questions
Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Arvind Sawant questioned the Chief Minister's intent. 'Until recently, I regarded Yogi Adityanath as a strong leader. But today I want to ask him, as the Chief Minister of one of the country's largest states, what exactly is he trying to achieve? Is the objective to deepen divisions and widen social fault lines?' he said. Sawant called for the focus to shift to unemployment and public welfare, invoking the late Bal Thackeray's advocacy for Hindu unity over caste division.
Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Priyanka Chaturvedi was blunter. 'This is completely whataboutery,' she said. 'Every trustee was associated with the BJP. The people of Ayodhya understood this, and that is why they defeated the BJP in the Lok Sabha elections.' Congress leader Hussain Dalwai also weighed in, alleging: 'They indulge in vote theft; now seat theft has also begun, and even temple treasuries are allegedly being looted.'
What Comes Next
With the SIT probe ordered by Adityanath still underway, the political temperature around the Ram Temple donation controversy is unlikely to cool. The Opposition's unified messaging — framing the Waqf counter-attack as deflection — signals that the issue will remain a pressure point for the BJP in Uttar Pradesh heading into the next electoral cycle.
Point of View
And allegations of theft within its precincts carry a symbolic weight that Waqf deflection cannot easily neutralise. The Lok Sabha defeat in Ayodhya is the data point the Opposition keeps returning to, and with reason: it suggests that even the BJP's core voter base in the constituency most associated with the temple had reservations. The SIT probe, ordered by Adityanath himself, is a double-edged instrument — it signals seriousness but also institutionalises the scandal. How the probe's findings are managed will determine whether this row fades or compounds into a larger credibility crisis for the party ahead of the UP assembly cycle.
NationPress
12 Jul 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Ram Temple donation theft row in Ayodhya?
The row refers to allegations of theft of donations made at the Ram Temple in Ayodhya, which have drawn sharp criticism of the BJP. UP CM Yogi Adityanath ordered an SIT probe into the incident, but the controversy has continued to fuel political attacks from Opposition parties.
Why is the Opposition accusing Yogi Adityanath of deflecting?
Opposition parties argue that Adityanath's remarks targeting the SP and Congress over Waqf land allegations are an attempt to shift public attention away from the Ram Temple donation theft controversy. SP MP Pushpendra Saroj and Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Priyanka Chaturvedi both used the term 'diversion' to describe the strategy.
What did SP MP Pushpendra Saroj say about the BJP and Ram Temple?
Saroj said the BJP had won power in Uttar Pradesh twice by invoking Lord Ram and the Ram Temple, and was now attempting to deflect from theft allegations linked to the same temple. He called on the Chief Minister to present evidence before making allegations against the Opposition.
What is the status of the SIT probe into the Ram Temple donation theft?
UP CM Yogi Adityanath ordered the SIT probe following the surfacing of donation theft allegations. As of 12 July, the probe was reported to be underway, with no findings made public.
How did the BJP's Ayodhya Lok Sabha defeat factor into the debate?
Multiple Opposition leaders, including Shiv Sena (UBT)'s Priyanka Chaturvedi, pointed to the BJP's defeat in the Ayodhya Lok Sabha constituency as evidence that voters had already registered discontent with the party's handling of the Ram Temple and related issues.
