Two former Karnataka Chief Ministers, HD Kumaraswamy and Siddaramaiah have spoken strongly against the ongoing fund collection drive for the construction of Ram Mandir in Ayodhya. Many activists of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad, Bajrang Dal and the ruling BJP, among other such organisations, have been going door-to-door and collecting funds across the country under the ‘Sri Ram Mandir Nidhi Samarpana Abhiyan’ campaign. The two leaders questioned under what authority these organisations are collecting funds and who will give clarity on the amount of money collected for the purpose and on the money collected before by these organisations for the same cause.
“I am not against construction of temples; I am against the donation by private entities. Who gave them permission? They are threatening people. Even I am a victim. Three persons came to my house including one lady and they threatened me by asking 'why you are not giving money. '” Kumaraswamy said, while speaking to reporters on Wednesday.
"They said Rama’s temple is our country’s prime issue. Was there any authorisation? I request the VHP people to be please transparent. Even in 1989, LK Advani had collected money. Who will give account of that money? They have to be publish the details," he added.
On Monday, Kumaraswamy had questioned the practice of marking the homes of donors and compared the practice by the Sangh Parivar as “similar to what the Nazi party did during Adolf Hitler’s regime in Germany”.
“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,” HDK had said as part of a series of tweets.
“Historians say that RSS took birth at the same time when the Nazi Party was founded in Germany. There are concerns about 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,” he added.
Meanwhile, Siddaramaiah on Tuesday said that he will not contribute to this drive due to the disputed nature of the land and instead said he is willing to donate if a temple is being built elsewhere. He added that while the Supreme Court has given its verdict on the matter, there is still lingering controversy surrounding the issue.
He also questioned the funds that were collected earlier by these organisations for the same purpose.