Raj Thackeray Alleges ₹18 Crore Was Stolen Annually From Mumbai’s Siddhivinayak Temple

Raj Thackeray, the founder of the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS), said that donations of ₹18 crore were being embezzled annually from Mumbai’s renowned Siddhivinayak Temple amid the controversy over the theft of money at Ram Temple in Ayodhya.

Thackeray said that temples are unsafe these days and urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to address the matter, claiming that ₹1,400 crore has been stolen from the Ram Temple in Ayodhya.

He stated that even temples are vulnerable to corruption, despite the fact that disgruntled young people frequent them, according to news agency PTI.

Thackeray was reportedly reading aloud a statement prepared by eight trustees of the temple, indicating that several staff who stole money from the contribution box at the Siddhivinayak Temple were caught due to the attentiveness of the trustees. He stated that the temple’s monthly earnings went from less than ₹50 lakh to ₹1.5 crore once the theft was uncovered.

“Every year, ₹18 crore was being stolen,” Thackeray alleged. He also added, “We have filed cases wherever required.”

Sada Sarvankar, head of the Siddhivinayak Temple Trust and a leader of the Shiv Sena led by Eknath Shinde, alleged that nine employees were arrested in this connection.

Sarvankar stated that the trust’s efforts were responsible for the increase in donations and that the temple’s revenue had grown from ₹114 crore to ₹182 crore just two years prior.Thackeray’s accusations coincide with a significant controversy surrounding donations to the Ram Temple, which has reverberated throughout the current monsoon session of Parliament.

Meanwhile, the Opposition MPs on Friday staged a ‘donation theft’ skit in protest against the government, following which a FIR was issued on Saturday in Varanasi against Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi and MPs Pappu Yadav and Awadhesh Prasad. In Delhi, BJP MP Bansuri Swaraj and other officials lodged a police complaint.