Ram Mandir Donation Row: Hanuman Garhi Mahant Says Akharas Were Ignored, Questions Trust Formation
Hanuman Garhi Mahant Ram Dass makes allegations against Champat Rai. (Image video grab of The Lens)
By AMIT KUMAR
Amid the resignations of Champat Rai and Anil Mishra after the Ram Mandir donation controversy, Hanuman Garhi Mahant Ram Dass tells The Lens that Ayodhya’s Akharas were excluded from the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust despite assurances during its formation.
New Delhi, June 26, 2026 — The controversy surrounding alleged irregularities in donations received by the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust has taken a fresh turn, with Hanuman Garhi Mahant Ram Dass alleging that the traditional Akharas were deliberately excluded from the formation of the temple trust and sidelined despite assurances during the early stages of the Ram Mandir movement.
The remarks come as Trust General Secretary Champat Rai and member Anil Mishra resigned amid mounting scrutiny over the handling of donations received by the Trust. Their exits have intensified calls for greater transparency in the administration of one of India’s most prominent religious institutions.
Speaking to The Lens, Mahant Ram Dass said the Akharas were never consulted before the Trust was constituted following the Supreme Court’s 2019 verdict on the Ayodhya dispute. “Neither were we asked for our opinion nor were we included in the Trust. We were never taken into confidence,” he told the media outlet.
According to the Hanuman Garhi seer, senior leaders associated with the Ram Janmabhoomi movement had repeatedly approached the Akharas before the Trust was formed, requesting that they refrain from publicly opposing its composition.
Ram Dass claimed that “Champat Rai had assured the Akharas that they would be given a significant role in the Trust’s functioning, but those assurances were never fulfilled.”
The Mahant recalled assurances allegedly given by the late Vishwa Hindu Parishad leader Ashok Singhal during the Ram Mandir movement. According to Ram Dass, Singhal had maintained that the movement was meant only to secure the temple’s construction, while its management and religious affairs would remain under the traditional custodians of Ayodhya.
“He had said the land belonged to the saints and that the temple would remain under their guidance. That promise was never honoured,” the Mahant alleged.
Ram Dass also questioned the selection of some members of the Trust, alleging that “several individuals were incapable of actively participating in its deliberations.”
Without presenting evidence, he claimed that “one member was unable to speak due to medical issues and therefore could neither raise objections nor effectively monitor the Trust’s functioning.”
He further alleged that objections from sections of the Akharas regarding the Trust’s composition were ignored after assurances of greater representation were made.
The Mahant said that after the Supreme Court verdict, several leaders associated with the temple movement regularly held discussions with religious figures in Ayodhya regarding the proposed Trust before its final structure was announced.
Background of the Donation Controversy
The Ram Mandir Trust has come under intense public scrutiny following allegations of irregularities in the management of donations collected for the construction and administration of the Ayodhya temple. The controversy escalated after questions were raised over accounting practices and financial oversight, prompting demands for greater transparency from opposition parties as well as sections of the religious community.
Amid the growing political and public pressure, Champat Rai, who had served as the General Secretary of the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust since its inception, stepped down along with Trust member Anil Mishra. Rai, a senior Vishwa Hindu Parishad leader and one of the principal architects of the temple movement’s organisational efforts, had played a central role in coordinating the construction project, fundraising, and public outreach.
Mishra, a long-time RSS functionary from Ayodhya, had also been closely associated with the Ram Janmabhoomi movement and was among the original members of the Trust constituted by the Union government in 2020.
Their resignations have added a new dimension to the controversy, with critics demanding an independent audit of the Trust’s finances while supporters maintain that due process should be allowed to take its course.
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