Prayagraj (Uttar Pradesh) [India], June 28 : Amid the Ram Mandir donation row, BJP MLA Sidharth Nath Singh on Sunday hit back at Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav over his recent remarks against Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and the Uttar Pradesh government during his Prayagraj visit.
Singh accused Akhilesh Yadav of attempting to mislead voters ahead of the elections by raising issues related to the Constitution.
He alleged that the SP chief had earlier made similar claims about the "Constitution being in danger" and was now making "baseless and absurd statements" to mislead people.
Speaking to ANI, a BJP MLA said, "This is yet another attempt by Akhilesh Yadav to mislead voters ahead of the elections by invoking the Constitution. He had previously claimed the Constitution was in danger to mislead the public... Now, he is once again trying to mislead people and make baseless, absurd statements... The public will not be swayed by him or Congress."
Earlier in the day, Akhilesh Yadav hit out at the Uttar Pradesh government over the alleged Ram Mandir donation embezzlement case, saying that for some, "donation comes before the nation."
Taking a dig at the state government, the former Chief Minister also questioned how the alleged irregularities went unnoticed despite Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath's frequent visits to Ayodhya.
"For those who put donation first, not nation... the Chief Minister, who was setting a world record for visiting Ayodhya, still didn't get this information even after going there. That's why the proverb was made--'darkness under the lamp' (Chirag tale andhera). How many times has he gone, and yet he has no news of this... It is about the accountability of the government," Yadav told reporters.
On Friday, Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Trust General Secretary Champat Rai and member trustee Anil Mishra resigned, taking moral responsibility for the alleged embezzlement of Ram Mandir donations.
The developments came after a First Information Report was registered on the alleged embezzlement of donations received at the Ram temple in Ayodhya.
The case has been filed under multiple provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), including Sections 306, 316(5), 317(4), 317(5), 61 and 3(5), on the directions of the Uttar Pradesh government.
Those who have been named in the FIR are: Anukalp Mishra, Lavkush Mishra, Avinash Shukla, Tinnu Yadav, Manish Yadav and others. This comes after allegations were made by former SP MLA from Ayodhya, Pawan Pandey, who claimed that between Rs 7 crore and Rs 7.5 crore in donations were misappropriated from the Ram Mandir.