Purchase of all land for construction of Ram temple completely transparent: Champat Rai

Ayodhya, Ta. 13

Responding to allegations of corruption by the trust in purchasing land for construction of Ram temple in Ayodhya, Ram Janmabhoomi Trust secretary Champat Rai said, "All land purchase for temple construction in Ayodhya is completely transparent and has been purchased at below market value." The Vishwa Hindu Parishad, on the other hand, said that the allegations were being made by people who considered Ram a fiction and obstructed the construction of a grand temple at every stage.

Ram Janmabhoomi Trust secretary Champat Rai said all land purchases for the Ram temple were completely transparent. All transactions are done through a bank account. Not only that, all the land has been purchased at a price lower than the current market value. The current value of the land in question is approximately Rs. 20 crore. In 2011, Kusum Pathak and Harish Pathak, the owners of the land, struck an "agreement to sell" in favor of Sultan Ansari and Ravi Mohan Tiwari at a market value of Rs 2 crore at the time. With the passage of nine years, the Supreme Court judgment and the construction of a new Ayodhya by the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Mandir Trust and the Uttar Pradesh government, the price of land there had skyrocketed.

The land is at a prime location near Ayodhya railway station. The trust spoke to Kusum Pathak, Sultan Ansari and Ravi Mohan Tiwari for the land. None of the three could sell the land alone. It was therefore decided to sell the land to Kusum Pathak Sultan Ansari and Ravi Mohan Tiwari as per the agreement to sell and then the temple trust would buy it at the current market price. It was decided to do both at the same time.

Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) working president Alok Kumar slammed the leaders who alleged corruption in land purchase for construction of Ram temple in Ayodhya, saying that these are the same anti-Ram people who are calling Ram a fiction and obstructing the construction of grand temple at every stage Is. He added that baseless allegations have been made by the Opposition to gain political advantage in next year's Assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh. They have been trying to tarnish the image of the struggle of people like Champat Rai who have been associated with the Ram temple movement for decades. Regarding AAP leader Sanjay Singh's allegations, he said, "His record is that he makes allegations, he is prosecuted and he apologizes."