'Donation voluntary': Yediyurappa slams leaders casting aspersions on Ram Mandir donation

Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa has lashed out at the opposition for casting aspersion on the donation drive for Ayodhya Ram Mandir. In a public rally in Shivamoga, Yediyurappa hit out at former chief ministers Kumaraswamy and Siddaramaiah, saying that the donation for Ram Mandir is voluntary and not mandatory. "No one is compelled to donate for Ram Temple," said the chief minister. Yediyurappa's remark has come a day after the former chief ministers questioned the authenticity of the Ram Mandir donation drive.

Former CMs raise doubts over fundraising

JDS leader Kumaraswamy was the first to comment on the donation drive, by claiming that people collecting donations for the construction of Ram Mandir are separately marking houses of those who paid money and those who did not. He added that these tactics are similar to what the Nazis did in Germany during Hitler's regime. He also claimed that historians say RSS came into the formation at the same time when the Nazi Party was founded in German, to draw a parallel between Nazi and RSS.

Moreover, Siddaramaiah also asked if there is an accountability of the money collected for Ram Mandir while adding that the previously raised money for bricks has been looted by the trust. 

"Can you give an account of the money now being collected? Previously they had raised money for bricks, but they threw the bricks and pocketed the money. They don't give any account for the amount of money that has been collected for the Ram Mandir," Siddaramaiah said.

"During Corona, they collected fund in the name of 'PM Cares'. Did they give any account of how much it has collected so far? When they can't account for how much they have collected from PM Cares, how will they give an account of how much they collected in this drive? These are all Rama and Krishna's accountability."

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Donation drive for Ram Mandir

Shri Ram Janmbhoomi Teerth Kshetra trust which is overseeing the construction of Ayodhya Ram Mandir is conducting a mass contact and contribution campaign for the construction of the grand temple in Ayodhya. The Trust was set up in accordance with the Supreme Court verdict on November 9, 2021, for the construction of Ram temple at Ayodhya. The Trust announced in December that it will launch a mass contact and contribution campaign which began on January 15 and is said to go on till February 27. The trust had printed 4 crore coupons of Rs 10 denomination, 8 crore coupons of Rs 100 and 12 lakhs coupons of Rs 1,000 denomination for the donation drive. the Trust said nearly 4 lakh volunteers will cover 55 crore people (11 crore families) in 5 lakh villages during the campaign. The trust's treasurer Swami Govind Dev Giri revealed that Rs.1511 crore has been deposited in its account so far. President Ram Nath Kovind has also donated Rs Five lakh in his personal capacity for the construction of the temple.

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