Character Builders to the Nation?

'Silence is a true friend who never betrays'

One does not know whether honourable Prime Minister has read this advice by Confucius, but his critics say that it is a key part of his statecraft.

The heist at Ram Mandir, where crores of rupees have supposedly been siphoned off, allegedly by people close to the management of the temple trust, has become one more such occasion where the Prime Minister maun (silence) is being talked about. It has become jarring also because of the fact that key personnel in the management of the Ram Mandir Teerth Trust were chosen by his office based on their being part of the Hindutva parivar for a long time. With the exposure of the heist, thanks to the role of the Opposition which continued to raise its voice against heavy odds, as of now three of the leading voices in the Trust have resigned.

Till last reports came in, around 50-60 people associated with this establishment are under the scanner and eight people among them have already been arrested for their alleged role in the heist.

What is becoming increasingly clear is that most of the arrested are minor players in the game and the real masterminds are not being touched.

Nobody in the wider Hindutva family would be ready to acknowledge it, but this dacaity (dacoity) at the Ram Temple --under the full glare of CCTV cameras as well as under the supervision of nationalised bank officials -- has become such an occasion where the deep rot in the 'Parivar' has come to the fore.

The self-proclaimed character builders to the nation have exposed themselves to the people. A big hiatus between the precepts and practice of all the big guns in the establishment have become apparent.

Leading analysts have rightly argued that like Mahatma Gandhi's assassination case, this moment is of similar significance for the wider Hindutva 'family'.

What has also complicated the matter this time is the internal differences/squabbles within the 'Parivar' which normally remain hidden but occasionally come out in the open, too.

Take the case of Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, who, according to reports, felt aggrieved for being kept out of the running of the Temple Trust with the Centre having sole prerogative in deciding its constitution and composition.

For him, this alleged embezzlement of donations and funds has become an opportunity to further embellish his 'clean image'  prior to the 2027 Assembly elections, much to the chagrin of a few RSS (Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh), Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) bigwigs who find themselves on the defensive with the growing ambit of the investigations into the loot.

Remember, whereas the Centre has maintained a strange silence over these developments in the hope that things would cool down, it has not even bothered to order a CBI enquiry in the case. The arrests in the heist have been made by the Special Investigation Team formed by the state government to look into the matter.

The fact is that the exposure in the Ram Mandir loot has come at an inopportune time as far as the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is concerned, uncovering its double standards further.

This issue has made headlines close on the heels of the Sabarimala case where the BJP in Kerala has been demanding a CBI investigation into the gold heist case at the temple, while preferring to remain silent at the donation embezzlement case at Ayodhya.

Second, the heist exposure has also for the moment punctured the growing demand of the VHP to 'liberate temples from government control'. It is being argued that if despite supervision of the government itself, if such organised loot and plunder of donation etc. could take place, if temples are handed over to private entities or religious trusts, it would be next to impossible to imagine the loot and plunder of donations.

As of now, every layperson knows the chronology of the unfolding developments at the Ram Temple in Ayodhya, which has reached a flashpoint like situation, since the latest exposure.

2019: The Supreme Court delivers its judgement in the Ram Temple-Babri Mosque case, it asks the Centre to form a trust to handle the regular affairs at Ayodhya.

The formation of the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust by the Prime Minister's Office (PMO).

A spate of allegations connected with land deals connected with Ayodhya.

2024: Inauguration of the Ram Temple before the general elections with Prime Minister Narendra Modi discharging the key role of Chief Patron (Jajamana) of the programme.

Apart from the CCTVs to bank officials associated with nationalised banks, a team of volunteers roped in to ensure transparency in donation-fund collection.

2026: Allegations about embezzlement of funds and donations crop up again, initial attempts to hush up the case.

Delayed filing an FIR, many minor players associated with collection and counting of money at the temple were arrested but none of the key personnel of the trust touched.

Conscious attempts to shield these people from any action, even media agog with planted reports of their 'sacrifice' and 'dedication' for the cause.

The question arises: Will PM Modi break his silence on the heist at the Ram Temple or will Chief Minister Adityanath be given a free hand in the case, putting many top people from the Hindutva establishment into a lot of inconvenience?

Public posturing apart, it is impossible to imagine that any full-blown enquiry can be there if it is left to the government, looking at the fact that neither the Centre nor the state government will even desire to expose the rot within completely, because any such investigation would open a pandora's box, putting the survival of the Hindutva project itself at stake.

The construction of the Ram Temple at Ayodhya has been a centrepiece of Hindutva politics for decades together, and has yielded rich political dividends to the ruling dispensation. It will not squander this opportunity under the name of investigation.

Hence, we will never know the real masterminds of the alleged organised embezzlement at the Ram Temple.

It would be a height of innocence to think that the minor players (those who have been arrested -- drivers or other assistants of the leading lights of the establishment) would have executed this embezzlement of funds and donations without the connivance of the people above.

A close look at the developments there give enough indications in this direction. Three leading voices of the Trust have resigned but their resignations have not been formally accepted by the Trust, which said it would deliberate over it in the meeting sometime in July. As per newspaper reports, their role in the management of the temple continues as before.

There are other major unknowns in the whole case. For example, despite the fact that the temple is in the high security zone, with both the Central and state governments providing top security, it is also being reported that a private security agency with around 400 guards was also engaged in the operation. This agency was reportedly run by someone close to the Hindutva 'Parivar' and was paid Rs 1 crore per month as fees for its services.

Now, the question arises: Who and why was this private security employed in such a high security zone and who had ordered its services?

Unless and until there is tremendous public pressure from below, all such crucial aspects of the alleged embezzlement of funds would remain under cover. We should also note that the initial whistleblowers in the case have suddenly gone silent fearing for their life. e.g. Mahipal, a bank official, who was one of those who had raised this issue but is not ready to talk to the media now.

The political Opposition has till date played its cards well, but it will have to get ready to take up the issue to its logical end and strategise ahead on creating wider public opinion in Uttar Pradesh and the country.

If supporters of the government want to portray the Opposition in a bad light for raising the issue, it is the constitutional duty of the Opposition and every conscious citizen to demand complete transparency in the functioning of the temple and also for the arrest of the real masterminds of the heist.

It is time the Opposition pressures the government to issue a White Paper on the embezzlement of funds and also ask it to make the report of the SIT public.

If citizens do not remain vigilant, if the Opposition suddenly loses steam, it will be easy for the powers that be to manage the outrage. There are instances galore on Hindutva's ability to handle /manage an explosive situation, where it finds itself on the defensive.

Interestingly, do readers recall the alleged 'theft’ at the BJP head office in Delhi, where supposedly Rs 2.5 crore had been ‘stolen'?

An SMS widely circulated in the journalist community had exposed this 'theft'. 'Na Taala Toota na Tijori, Phirbhi BJP Mukhyalaya se Dhai KarodCchori' (Neither the lock was broken nor the safe, Still 2.5 crore Rs were stolen from the Party headquarters.)

As a recap of the reports, one can say that only notes of Rs 1,000 denomination had been found to be missing from the party treasury. Notes of Rs 500 denomination had been left untouched.

According to reports, the theft was reportedly detected on December 26 (2008) by the deputy accounts officer, Nalin Tandon, when the office reopened after Christmas. The mystery surrounding the heist deepened when it turned out that neither the locks to the accounts office nor the safe had been broken. There was absolutely no sign of a break-in, suggesting insider involvement.

What had rather surprised observers then was that instead of calling the police and their sniffer dogs immediately and trace the 'missing' amount, the BJP, which was then in the Opposition, had roped in private detectives to solve the case. Another notable feature of the 'theft' was that it was leaked to the press by some party insiders.

In this particular case at the BJP headquarters, people kept asking that if the said amount really went missing, why did no one notice the bag or packet of notes passing out through the gate.

Nothing further is available in the public domain about this 'missing money' from the BJP headquarters itself.

Maybe the people responsible for the 'missing money' had a change of heart and supposedly returned the money, or the issue was conveniently forgotten.

This episode at the BJP headquarters in 2008 had then rekindled memories of a similar incident at the party head office itself when the then party president, Bangaru Laxman, was caught on camera 'accepting' bundles of notes from an 'arms dealer' as part of a sting operation. He was also seen asking a journalist present there as an 'arms dealer agent' to come with dollars next time.

There is no point in repeating the aftermath of the Tehelka exposures that demonstrated the manner in which defence deals are managed. Bangaru Laxman saw his unceremonious exit from the top post of BJP with immediate effect and the RSS declared him to be a 'failed swayamsevak'. Later, the party declared that Laxman was accepting donations for the party itself.

Nobody had then questioned the RSS about this 'failed Swayamsevak' and its own role in his character building.

Of course, as far as matters of financial wheeling and dealing are concerned, the involvement of people who are brought up in the Sangh tradition are not rare. While the world at large saw with its own eyes Bangaru Laxman accepting notes from a fraudulent arms dealer (thanks to the sting operation done by Tehelka), it also noticed that the biggest contingent of MPs who faced expulsion because of a similar sting operation, belonged to the Sangh lineage. People who wear their Sangh lineage on their sleeves had no compunction in even occupying land meant for Dalits for years together.

Perhaps, the best example from the Parivar could be that of a top leader who was one among those who had been asked to maintain liaison between BJP and RSS. Tavleen Singh, a journalist said to be close to the RSS, in a signed article ‘Rashtriya Swayamseva Sangh’ (Indian Express, 2003) had given details of this leader’s son’s involvement in the petrol pump scam

Interestingly, while the ‘moral degeneration’ of the leaders might have become a cause of concern of late, it cannot be said that this is a recent phenomenon.

Balraj Madhok, a senior leader of the Bharatiya Jana Sangh, in his autobiography, provides details of the lifestyles of senior leaders. In his autobiography, Zindagi Ka Safar, published in three parts, Madhok presents a vivid description of the way senior leaders functioned then and the manner in which the top bosses of the RSS, namely Golwalkar, dealt with issues involving moral turpitude.

Balraj Madhok writes:

Some time back when I was the President of the Jana Sangh, Jagadish Prasad Mathur, in-charge of the Central Office, who was staying with a senior leader at 30, Rajendra Prasad Road, had complained to me that the leader had turned that house into a den of immoral activities There everyday new girls were coming. Now water was flowing above heads. So as a senior leader of Jana Sangh I have dared to bring to your notice this fact. I had some information about character of the leader, but situation had deteriorated that much, I did not know. (Balraj Madhok, Zindagi Ka Safar – 3: Deendayal Upadhyaya Ki Hatya Se Indira Gandhi Ki Hatya Tak, Delhi: Dinmaan Prakashan, 20003, p.22)

He further provides details about Golwalkar’s reaction to the whole episode, as Madhok had discovered then that senior leadership of the RSS was bent upon making this particular leader president of the Bharatiya Jana Sangh. Discussing his meeting with Golwalkar, he writes:

After listening to my talk he kept quiet for some time and then said –‘I am in the know of the weaknesses of the character of these people. But I have to run an organization. I have to take everybody together, so like Shiva I drink poison everyday. (ibid p.62)

The writer is a veteran independent journalist. The views are personal.