Lucknow/Ayodhya: Sant Samaj, a body of seers from Ayodhya, on Thursday came out in support of senior VHP functionary and former Ram Temple Trust general secretary Champat Rai and sought his re-induction into the Ram Temple Trust.It also held deliberations on restoring Ayodhya’s ‘honour and prestige’ amid the Ram Temple donation theft controversy.The daylong meeting held at Mani Ramdas Chhavni in Ayodhya was attended by around 250 from Ayodhya’s mutts, temples, and akharas, along with VHP and RSS functionaries.VHP general secretary Bajrang Lal Bagra said, “The seers of Ayodhya were of the view that the Ram Temple Trust members have worked with sincerity. They have pleaded to Ram Lalla to punish the guilty. The saints also felt that those who come out clean after the inquiry should be given opportunity to serve the society again.” Other senior VHP present in Ayodhya included Dinesh Chandra and Gajendra, and RSS functionaries Manoj Kant, Kaushal and Ashok.The seers, including Kamal Nayan Das from Maniram Das Chhavni, Mahant Ramdas from Hanumangarhi, said Rai should re-appointed to the Trust if he is given a clean chit by the SIT. So far, the SIT has made no mention of Rai in its ongoing probe into the alleged donation theft at the Ram Temple.The four Ayodhya seers — Kamal Nayan Das, Rajkumar Das (Ram Ballabh Kunj), Ramanand Das (Ram Katha Kunj) and Swami Mithlesh Nandini (Hanumant Niwas) — who were elected as the members of the religious committee constituted on Wednesday by the Trust, also came out in support of Rai.Kamal Nayan Das, who was among the leading organisers of the meeting, said people shall remain cautious of rashtra drohis. “Sant Samaj has collectively come to the conclusion that people should be cautious of anti-nationals. We all are also on board with having Champat Rai back in the Trust if his name gets cleared in the inquiries,” he said.Jai Ram Das, associated with the organisers, said one of the key issues on the agenda was evolving a mechanism through the Trust to ensure that all temple rituals, festivals, celebrations and methods of worship are conducted strictly according to the Ramanandi tradition.Another seer, Mayank Das, said, “Ramanandi practice has to be followed in all the temples of Ayodhya as the city belongs to him. We also feel that local saints and residents should be accorded preference during the darshan of Ram Lalla. We are going to continue to work for Sanatan Dharam collectively and expose Congress and SP leaders who are trying to exploit this matter to their advantage.”Earlier, permanent member of the Trust and Nirmohi Akhara chief Dinendra Das has openly backed Rai.Sources said there was broad agreement among the seers that followers of Sanatan Dharma should unite against those who, according to participants, had “sought to damage the image” of Sanatan Dharma and “misled or provoked” the public over the theft issue.
