Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) International President Alok Kumar on Sunday, 28 June called for police action — including the filing of First Information Reports — against those he accused of spreading what he termed 'bizarre rumours' about the alleged theft of donated ornaments from the Ram Temple in Ayodhya. Kumar simultaneously backed Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust Treasurer Swami Govind Dev Giri Maharaj, insisting that all donated gold ornaments and silver bricks remain safe and accounted for.

Kumar's Stand on the Embezzlement Row

The VHP chief said the ongoing probe into the Ram Temple embezzlement case must leave no one untouched. 'If the investigation was against only those eight people, then it won't hold any meaning — that is why officials at all levels are being probed,' Kumar said.

He rejected Opposition claims that ornaments worth crores had been misappropriated from temple donations. 'The Ram Temple Trust Treasurer has said that the gold and silver ornaments are intact. It is an irresponsible, bizarre rumour-mongering in order to benefit from the situation and an attempt to spread dissatisfaction among all the Hindus,' he said.

Legal Warning to Rumour-Spreaders

Kumar cited Section 353 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) to argue that spreading unverified claims of this nature constitutes a criminal offence. He urged police to summon those circulating such narratives for questioning. 'If it is found to be unverified and manufactured news, then an FIR should be lodged and subsequent action should be taken against those spreading such misinformation,' he said.

He also appealed directly to Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath to direct law enforcement to identify and act against those he described as spreading 'bizarre rumours' about the temple's finances. Notably, Kumar simultaneously called on investigators to probe all accusations in the case without leniency — stating that 'all big and small fishes should be investigated without any mercy.'

Countering the Samajwadi Party

Kumar took sharp aim at Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav, whose pledge — made a day earlier — to develop Ayodhya into a 'peerless and inimitable sacred city' if voted to power drew a pointed historical rebuttal from the VHP leader.

'A person's authenticity is also measured by their history. When Mulayam Singh Yadav was the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister, how many attempts did he make to transform Ayodhya into 'Siyaram Dham'? He got bullets fired, killed people, and committed atrocities. He never spoke in favour of the Ram temple,' Kumar said.

He added that Akhilesh Yadav's own tenure as Chief Minister similarly saw no meaningful steps toward constructing 'Siyaram Dham', alleging that the SP chief's current remarks were driven by 'greed for power in view of the 2027 Assembly polls in Uttar Pradesh.'

What Comes Next

The Ram Temple embezzlement row has deepened political fault lines in Uttar Pradesh ahead of the 2027 state elections, with the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Opposition trading accusations over the management of temple funds. With the VHP now calling for criminal action against critics and investigators probing multiple officials, the controversy is unlikely to subside in the near term.