Overview
- Ayodhya police arrested eight outsourced employees of the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra trust in June on charges of stealing cash and valuables from the temple’s vault.
- The Samajwadi Party led large protests on Monday and demanded a full government reply about who was involved and why any alleged perpetrators were protected.
- Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and parliamentary affairs minister Suresh Khanna defended the government, saying the suspects are in custody and accusing opponents of double standards.
- The disruptions came as the Monsoon Session debated a supplementary budget that would raise honoraria for frontline workers such as Anganwadi and ASHA staff and village chowkidars.
- The row has widened political fault lines ahead of state elections by turning a criminal case over temple donations into a challenge to the BJP government’s credibility and accountability.