‘Very Unfortunate’: Former JPCC President Rajesh Thakur Condemns Ajay Rai’s Detention Ahead Of Ram Mandir Visit

Ranchi: Calling the alleged house arrest of Uttar Pradesh Congress President Ajay Rai in Ayodhya "very unfortunate", former Jharkhand Pradesh Congress Committee (JPCC) Chief Rajesh Thakur on Tuesday asserted that stopping party leaders from the 'darshan' of Lord Ram will not stop them from raising the alleged theft of temple donations.

Speaking to ANI, the Congress leader said that those who want to go for darshan of Lord Ram in Ayodhya should be allowed.

"This is very unfortunate... Those who want to go for darshan of Lord Ram, like our leader Ajay Rai and other leaders who want to go, should be allowed to go; stopping them will not stop this matter (alleged embezzlement of temple donations in Ayodhya)," Thakur said.

Further, the Congress slammed the BJP government's police over the alleged house arrest of Uttar Pradesh Congress President and said the "method is reprehensible" and will not be tolerated. Congress party added that the dictatorial attitude reveals the BJP government's dual mindset.

Taking to X, the Congress official handle wrote, "The BJP government's police have confined UP Congress President @kashikirai ji in the guest house of Acharya Narendra Deva University. The room where Ajay Rai ji has been kept has its doors locked from the outside. This method is reprehensible and will not be tolerated. On one hand, the police place Congress leaders under house arrest, while on the other hand, Arvind Kejriwal is granted VIP facilities for his darshan. This dictatorial attitude reveals the BJP government's dual mindset, but they should remember that we are not the ones who get scared."

This comes amid an ongoing political controversy surrounding the alleged embezzlement of temple donations at the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya.

Earlier, Ajay Rai alleged that he and other party leaders were forcibly detained by the police late Monday night around 11:30 PM and brought to the university guest house, claiming they were being harassed to prevent them from visiting the shrine.

In a video statement, Rai said, "We all intended to visit Ayodhya to seek the blessings of Lord Shri Ram. We had formed a delegation to offer prayers and seek darshan. We also wanted to pray to the Lord regarding the disrepute brought to this holy site by the RSS and BJP through the theft of offerings and donations, as well as land scams. Instead, our colleagues and I were placed under house arrest."