UP Congress Chief Ajay Rai Placed Under House Arrest

 in Ayodhya Hotel Ahead of Ram Temple Delegation Visit

Report By Y-Trendz

Uttar Pradesh Congress president Ajay Rai was placed under house arrest at an Ayodhya hotel late Monday night, just hours before he was scheduled to lead a high-level party delegation to the Ram

Janmabhoomi Temple, in a move that has triggered sharp political confrontation between the Congress and the BJP-led state government amid an ongoing controversy over alleged temple fund embezzlement.

How the House Arrest Unfolded

Rai is reportedly still in custody at Hotel Padam Shri Palace in Ayodhya. According to his own account, the action came swiftly after he reached the temple town. Rai said he reached Ayodhya on Monday, a day ahead of the planned visit, and that he had "just arrived in Ayodhya when the BJP government got so scared that the police arrested me from the hotel and are taking me away in their jeep."

Taking to social media platform X, Rai did not mince words in his criticism of the state government. He wrote, "भाजपा सरकार की तानाशाही चरम पर है!" ("The dictatorship of the BJP government is at its peak!"), adding that he had just reached Ayodhya when the government grew so frightened that police arrested him from his hotel and were taking him away in their jeep. He went on to call the Uttar Pradesh government "chadhava chor" (offering thieves), directly tying the police action to the temple donation scandal.

The Planned Delegation

The visit that triggered the crackdown was meant to be a show of both faith and political pressure. The Congress had said in a statement that a delegation led by Rai and comprising MPs Kishori Lal Sharma, Rakesh Rathor, Ujjwal Raman Singh and Tanuj Punia was going to visit the temple to pay their respects and raise the corruption matter, and that the party had reportedly informed the local administration about the visit in advance.

The party framed the pilgrimage as both devotional and political, intending to use the platform to spotlight the unfolding scandal over temple trust funds while also seeking darshan of Lord Ram. The Uttar Pradesh Congress unit said the delegation was scheduled to visit Ayodhya on June 30 for darshan and worship of Lord Shri Ram, but alleged the BJP-led state government had acted to prevent the visit, accusing it of resorting to "cowardly actions" out of fear.

Other Leaders Also Targeted

Rai was not the only Congress functionary affected. Former Rajya Sabha MP and senior Congress leader A.P. Gautam was also supposed to join the delegation but was reportedly stopped by police from leaving his home in Barabanki. Separately, the party said Congress District President of Pratapgarh, Neeraj Tripathi, was placed under house arrest and detained by police without any clear reason being stated.

The Uttar Pradesh Congress issued a strong statement condemning the actions, arguing that Lord Shri Ram does not belong to any single political party or ideology and is instead a symbol of the faith and culture of the entire country, asserting that stopping devotees from going to Ayodhya is unconstitutional. The party demanded that the state government stop its repressive policies, immediately release the detained Congress leaders, and allow them to proceed to Ayodhya without hindrance.

Rai's wife, Reena Rai, also joined in condemning the police action. She said, "The BJP government will stop at nothing to silence my husband!", and in a further post warned that if anything happened to her husband, full responsibility would lie with the authorities involved, while alleging that party colleagues were being misled with incorrect information after the arrest and vowing the fight against the "offering thieves" would continue.

Backdrop: The Temple Fund Embezzlement Row

The house arrest comes against the backdrop of a snowballing scandal at the Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust. An FIR was filed on June 26 against eight persons at the Ram Janmbhoomi Police Station in Ayodhya in connection with alleged temple trust fund embezzlement, containing charges including theft, criminal breach of trust, cheating and criminal conspiracy. This came after three separate police complaints, including one from a former kar sevak, and a damning SIT report alongside public outcry. All eight accused, drawn from the cash-counting staff, have been remanded to 14-day judicial custody, with the case next due to be heard on July 13.

The fallout has already reached the trust's senior leadership: two senior functionaries of the Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust — general secretary Champat Rai and trustee Anil Mishra — have resigned from their positions, though neither has been named in the FIR. Adding to the intrigue, it has emerged that the State Bank of India had flagged possible irregularities three months earlier, since seven of the eight accused held their primary accounts at the bank's main Ayodhya branch, with a bank official alleging that trust officials had intervened and shielded the staff despite the bank's warnings.

As of this report, Ajay Rai remains in police custody, and it is unclear whether the Congress delegation's visit to the Ram Temple will proceed as planned. The episode is likely to deepen the political confrontation between the Congress and the Adityanath-led state government in the run-up to further developments in the temple fund case.