Congress leader Digvijaya Singh sends Rs 1.11 lakh cheque to PM Modi for construction of Ram Mandir

New Delhi, Jan 19: In a recent development, Senior Congress leader Digvijaya Singh has donated Rs 1,11,111 for the construction of Ram Mandir in Ayodhya. It can be seen that Singh is one of the first in the Congress to donate funds for the temple.

But his donation was accompanied by a jibe directed at Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Singh sent the cheque to the Prime Minister as the Congress veteran claimed that he was unaware about where to send donations for the construction of the temple.

Besides cheque, Singh also sent a letter to the Prime Minister wherein raised questions over the exclusion of "main Shankaracharyas of the Sanatan Dharma" in the temple trust.

"We have all welcomed the Supreme Court's decision on the issue of Ram Temple in Ayodhya, but I have objection to the non-inclusion of any main Shankracharya of Sanatan Dharma in the body," he said in the letter.

"As I am not aware of where to donate money and in which bank account, therefore, I am enclosing a cheque of Rs 1,11,111 with a hope that you (PM Modi) will get it deposited in an appropriate account," he further wrote.

In the letter, Singh also said Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) had launched a 44-day drive to seek funds for the temple construction but a lot of unknown people were also involved in the effort, including some with "sticks and swords".

He said the VHP had earlier carried out fund drives for the Ram temple construction, and asked the prime minister to "force" the outfit to make its accounts public.

He also questioned how raising inflammatory slogans against a particular community, allegedly witnessed in some fund collection rallies in Madhya Pradesh in recent past, can be termed as religious work.