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Former chief minister and Janata Dal Secular (JDS) leader H D Kumaraswamy on Wednesday questioned the authenticity and transparency in collecting donations for the construction of Ram Mandir at Ayodhya.
Addressing reporters, Kumaraswamy claimed that he was threatened by few volunteers while collecting funds and when he had refused to donate. “Here I demand transparency and want to know who has authorised collections and where the funds are going.”
Former chief minister made it clear that he is not opposed to building Ram temple or raising funds, but concerned about genuineness of fund raising. “All kinds of people have started collecting money in every village. We don’t know who has authorised them to collect and whether the funds are reaching the right people.”
“We have opened so many JanDhan accounts in the country, then why can’t we collect money online? Why collect on the street and mark houses? Here the government has a responsibility to check as to who is collecting funds for the Ram Temple,” Kumarswamy said.
“When raising the issue of genuineness some people are trying to misinterpret my statement that I am opposing the Ram temple project, but that is not true,” he clarified.
‘Similar to Nazis’
A couple days ago, Kumaraswamy had raised the issue of collecting donations and said, “It appears that those collecting donations for the construction of Ram Mandir have been separately marking the houses of those who paid money and those who did not. This is similar to what Nazis did in Germany during the regime of Hitler when lakhs of people lost their lives.”
He further said, “Historians say that RSS took birth at the same time when Nazi Party was founded in Germany. There are concerns on what will happen if the RSS tries to implement similar policies adopted by Nazis. The fundamental rights of people are being snatched away in the country now. I don’t know where these developments, which are being witnessed in India, take us finally.”