Lucknow: Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati on Tuesday called the alleged donation theft at Ram temple “an extremely serious” matter but cautioned against turning it into a political issue.Citing daily media reports on the controversy, she said the developments were worrying, yet insisted that politicising the case “won ‘t be right.”Mayawati demanded a thorough investigation and said those found involved must not be spared. She also pressed for stronger systems to manage offerings and donations at the Ram temple to prevent recurrence.Pointing to practices at other major temples, the former Uttar Pradesh chief minister said established models of accounting and management could be adopted in Ayodhya as well.Her remarks come as leaders from several opposition parties, including the Samajwadi Party, Aam Aadmi Party and Congress, stepped up attacks on the BJP govt in Uttar Pradesh, and some visited Ayodhya, actions the BSP leader indirectly criticised as seeking political mileage. Mayawati ‘s emphasis on not mixing “politics into religion” was seen by political observers as a departure from the opposition ‘s line and potentially easing pressure on the ruling party.She argued that separating politics, crime and religion would serve the national interest. “If there is no politicisation of crime or criminalisation of politics, it will be in the interest of the country, as much as not mixing politics and religion together,” she said.This is not the first instance of Mayawati diverging from other opposition parties on the Ram temple. In Jan 2024, amid opposition criticism of the consecration ceremony, she said the BSP, as a secular party, had no objection to the event.
