Uttar Pradesh Congress chief Ajay Rai said he was placed under house arrest in Ayodhya on June 30, 2024 [1].
The incident escalates tensions between the Congress party and the state government over the management of the Ram Temple, specifically regarding allegations of embezzlement involving donation funds [5].
"I am under house arrest," Rai said [1]. He said the restriction prevented a nine-member Congress delegation from visiting the temple to offer prayers [2].
The detention began at a hotel in Ayodhya. According to reports, police forced Rai to leave the hotel around midnight [3] and moved him to the guest house of Acharya Narendra Dev University of Agriculture and Technology in Kumarganj [4].
Rai said the move was an attempt by the Uttar Pradesh BJP government to block the delegation's access to the site. He said the group would not leave the city without visiting the temple.
"We are under house arrest and will not leave without Ram Mandir darshan," Rai said [2].
The Congress party alleges that the government is afraid of the public reaction from Ram devotees if the delegation is allowed to raise issues regarding the temple's finances [5].
“"I am under house arrest," Ajay Rai said.”
The detention of a senior political leader in Ayodhya underscores the high symbolic and political stakes surrounding the Ram Temple. By attempting to block the Congress delegation, the state government is likely seeking to avoid a public confrontation over the sensitive issue of temple donation funds, which could potentially mobilize opposition sentiment in a key political stronghold.
