The Congress is preparing to launch a state-wide campaign in Uttar Pradesh over its allegations of irregularities in donations collected for the Ram temple in Ayodhya. The campaign is expected to begin in October after the party completes its organisational reshuffle in the state, people familiar with the matter said.
The party plans to roll out the campaign in phases and continue its programmes in the run-up to next year's elections, according to the people cited above.
Congress plans dedicated campaign setup
Congress general secretary for organisation KC Venugopal had announced the proposed campaign during a Congress Working Committee meeting on August 19.
“This is not a theft at Ram Mandir alone but ghar ghar ‘chanda chori’ as millions of Indians have donated for Ram Mandir,” he said.
Congress leaders have previously raised the issue at public meetings, with Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi also accusing the Narendra Modi government over the alleged “chanda chori”. Gandhi has argued that members of the temple trust were handpicked by the government.
According to Congress' Uttar Pradesh in-charge Rajendra Pal Gautam, the party is waiting for the ongoing organisational restructuring to be completed before beginning the campaign on a larger scale.
“We regularly raise the ‘chanda chori’ issue in our public meetings. But we are waiting for the sangathan srijan (organisational reshuffle) to be over in the state. Then, we will have a dedicated set up starting from the district level to lead the campaign. It is an important part of our poll campaign in UP this year.”
Gautam said the organisational exercise is expected to be completed by the end of September, following which the party plans to begin its state-wide campaign in October.
“We will continue our programmes on ‘chanda chori’ till the run up to the elections,” he added.
Expert flags questions over campaign
Manindra Nath Thakur, an Associate Professor at the Centre for Political Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, said the donations issue still has political resonance but questioned how effectively the Congress could use it in Uttar Pradesh.
“There is a deep discontent against the central government but according to my reports, the UP government is doing well. Chanda chori is one of the big issues and I believe it has not fully exhausted. If the Congress can take the issue to the public, it can create a buzz. People have emotionally invested in Ram Temple,” Thakur told Hindustan Times.
“But I doubt how well the Congress can use this issue. I don’t think they have invested enough for organization reshuffle and I don’t think they have enough manpower to campaign across the states. Also, the issue might be more appropriate for the Lok Sabha elections as the Congress party is trying to blame the Modi government. But it’s too early to start campaign for the Lok Sabha polls,” added Thakur.