Keeping up the attack on the BJP over the alleged theft of donation and offerings at the Ram Temple, senior Congress leader and former Union Minister Pawan Bansal today questioned the silence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the issue.

Alleging that the actual perpetrators of the crime were being protected, Bansal demanded that the government-appointed Ram Mandir Trust should be dissolved immediately, and non-political people should be brought in to restore the lost trust and faith of Lord Rama’s devotees.

Addressing a press conference in Shimla today, Bansal said the Prime Minister should apologise for the incident on the very first day of the monsoon session in Parliament and assure the public that strict action would be taken. “The BJP, RSS and several other associated organisations collected money from across the country for the temple, but now there are no answers. Why are the people actually responsible for the fraud being protected,” asked Bansal.

The Congress leader further alleged that the norms and protocols put in place at the temple were gradually relaxed and the warnings about the “scam” were ignored. “It shows that it’s not the handiwork of junior employees who have been arrested but someone big is involved,” he alleged.

Demanding that the trust should be dissolved and replaced, Bansal said the new body should comprise non-political individuals, Shankaracharyas and prominent religious saints, keeping the government and political parties completely out of it.