75 months after the formation of Ram Mandir Trust in Ayodhya, General Secretary Champat Rai and member Anil Mishra have resigned. The resignation of both of them has taken place at a time when the Ram Mandir Trust is embroiled in controversies about theft of donations and offerings and allegations have started falling on both of them. On Thursday (June 25), on the complaint of Trust member Krishna Mohan, Ayodhya Police registered an FIR against 8 people in this case. One of these accused, Tinnu Yadav, is considered close to Champat Rai.
There are allegations that he is looking after the work of the trust. Champat Rai Only with the consent of the people, those who counted the money offered were appointed. No one’s background was seen in this also. One of them is someone’s nephew and the other is his relative. Overall, work was going on within the Trust on the model of ‘No account, no account, whatever Champat says, that is right’.
In this story we will try to understand how the trust was established, how many members were there earlier, how many are there now. How people were hired to oversee the work of Ram temple. What were the lapses that led the matter to this point and what can be done to ensure that such an incident does not happen again.
Question-1: How was the trust established?
Following the instructions of the Supreme Court in 2019, the Central Government had announced the establishment of Ram Mandir Trust through the Union Home Ministry. At that time, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had described this trust in the Lok Sabha as an independent trust. The responsibility of the trust was to raise funds for the construction of the temple and execute the construction work. The responsibility of operation and management of the temple also rests with this trust.
A total of 15 members were initially appointed to the Trust. These included 6 people from Sant Samaj, 4 from officer quota and 5 from social quota.
Mahant Nritya Gopal Das was appointed president and Champat Rai was appointed general secretary in the trust. Apart from this, an official of the Central Government, an official of the State Government and the DM of Ayodhya were appointed ex-officio members of the Trust. Dinendra Das, who comes from the Sant community, is the treasurer of the trust.
At the time of formation, Kameshwar Chaupal was included in the trust, but after his death, Hardoi resident Krishna Mohan was made a member of the trust. An FIR in the offering theft case has been registered on the basis of Krishna Mohan’s complaint.
After the resignation of Champat Rai and Anil Mishra, now 3 posts have become vacant in the 15-member Ram Mandir Trust. Actually, one post in the trust is vacant since 2025. This post is vacant due to the death of Ayodhya king Vimalendra Mohan Pratap Mishra. It has not been filled yet.
Question-2: What was the role of Champat Rai in the Trust?
There is nothing written about how and what work the officials of the Ram Mandir Trust will do, but being the General Secretary of the Trust, Champat Rai had all the major powers. Tinnu Yadav is considered close to Champat Rai. Tinnu used to be Champat Rai’s driver, later he became Champat Rai’s close friend.
Decisions about who to keep and who to fire also started being taken through Tinnu. To count the money, people were hired who appeared to be each other’s relatives. As the layers were revealed, Champat Rai started getting pressured. After registering a case against 8 people and arresting them, it was decided that now it is the turn of the big fish. The departure of Champat Rai and Anil Mishra was decided only after the VHP meeting on Thursday.
Ayodhya MP Awadhesh Prasad According to Champat Rai was the custodian of the trust. While talking to TV-9, Awadhesh Prasad said- Champat Rai used to take all the major decisions. Now an FIR should be registered against him in this matter. This is a big betrayal of Ram devotees.
Question-3: What are the allegations against Champat Rai?
Champat Rai has been surrounded by controversies since the beginning. In 2020-21, Ram Mandir Trust and its members were accused of irregularities in land purchase. At that time this matter was very much discussed. There was a demand to remove Champat Rai, but Champat had convinced the RSS with his arguments at that time.
Champat distanced himself from the rhetoric after this. This time, in the case of theft of offerings in the Trust, Champat Rai initially gave a statement, but later remained silent. There are mainly 3 allegations against Champat Rai-
1. Champat Rai did not maintain transparency in the operation of the trust.
2. Receipt was not given for the donated items that came to the Trust.
3. Champat’s close associates were looting the offerings but they could not take action against them.
Question-4: What will happen next in Ram Mandir Trust?
After the resignation of Champat Rai and Anil Mishra, 3 posts have become vacant in the Trust. The tenure of the construction committee is also about to end. In a recent meeting, the head of the construction committee, Nripendra Mishra, told the journalists that the companies will finish the work from here by July 15 and leave. That means Nripendra Mishra’s work is also going to end here.
However, it is not clear what role Nripendra will play in the trust, but after the recent developments, it has been decided that whatever changes will take place in the trust now, will be on a big scale.
Question-5: Who will make this change in the trust?
The Central Government had made it clear that this trust is an independent trust. Last time, when Krishna Mohan was appointed as a member in place of Kameshwar Chaupal, the Trust itself had taken this decision. At that time Champat Rai had called it a decision taken with unanimous consent. That means further decisions will also be taken within the trust itself.
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