In Uttar Pradesh, politics is unfolding in surprisingly curious ways following the revelations of donation theft at the high-profile Ram temple in Ayodhya, managed by a trust constituted by the Narendra Modi government on recommendations from the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP).
Surprise number one is the low-key response of Opposition leaders to a scandal that undoubtedly embarrasses the entire Sangh Parivar, including the BJP governments in Lucknow and at the Centre.
On the face of it, the heist, suspected to run into crores of rupees, is a ready-made issue for the Opposition to run with. UP Assembly elections are mere months away. Common sense suggests that the polls could well turn on an emotive campaign crafted around trust and betrayal of sentiments of millions of Hindu devotees right under the nose of a double-engine BJP sarkar.
Yet, Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi, who never misses an opportunity to lash out at the RSS, is silent. Not one statement or tweet yet.
Others with big stakes in next year’s state polls like Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, BSP supremo Mayawati and even Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, who remains the Congress party’s most popular face in UP, have condemned the theft and demanded strict punishment for the guilty.
However, the tone and tenor of their comments sound suspiciously like pro forma statements. No bite, no fire, no call to action. Surprise number two is that UP Chief Minister, Yogi Adityanath, who should have been on the back foot as the self-declared custodian of the Hindu community, has come out all guns blazing on the issue. He is making more noise than his all political opponents.