NEW DELHI: The Congress on Monday alleged that its Uttar Pradesh unit chief Ajay Rai was placed under house arrest a day before a high-level party delegation was scheduled to visit Ayodhya and offer prayers at the Ram Temple.The party claimed the action was taken to prevent the delegation from visiting Ayodhya amid the ongoing controversy over the alleged embezzlement of funds related to the Ram Temple.In a late evening post on X, the Uttar Pradesh Congress said, “Has it now become a crime in UP to even have darshan of Lord Shri Ram?”The party said a Congress delegation led by state president Ajay Rai was scheduled to visit Ayodhya on Tuesday to offer prayers at the Ram Temple. It alleged that the BJP government, ‘scared of this journey’, had started taking ‘cowardly actions’.It also alleged that Pratapgarh district Congress president Neeraj Tripathi was detained by police without any reason.“Lord Shri Ram does not belong to any one political party or ideology, but is a symbol of the faith and culture of the entire country. Stopping devotees from going to Ayodhya is unconstitutional,” the party said.The Congress demanded that the Uttar Pradesh government immediately release its leaders and allow them to visit Ayodhya without any hindrance.The delegation, led by Ajay Rai, is scheduled to include Congress MPs Kishori Lal Sharma (Amethi), Rakesh Rathor (Sitapur), Ujjwal Raman Singh (Prayagraj) and Tanuj Punia (Barabanki). Former MP SP Gautam, former MLC Deepak Singh, former MLA Virendra Chaudhary and former MLA Mita Gautam are also expected to be part of the visit.Earlier, Uttar Pradesh minister Dayashankar Singh accused opposition leaders of not believing in Lord Ram and questioned their criticism of those associated with the Ram Temple.“These are the people who do not believe in Lord Ram. Some among them do not even accept his existence. They have never gone for Lord Ram’s darshan. Have those criticising ever visited the Ram Temple? Have they made any contribution to its construction?” Singh told PTI.
