Ayodhya Land Deal: Sanjay Singh Vows to Hand Over 'Corruption Documents' to SIT

A political standoff intensifies as the AAP leader challenges the state government’s probe into alleged financial irregularities surrounding the Ram Temple trust.

The simmering controversy over land deals in Ayodhya reached a new flashpoint this week, as Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh publicly declared his intent to submit a dossier of "evidence" to the Special Investigation Team (SIT) tasked with probing the matter. This development follows a pointed appeal from Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, who, during a public rally in Ayodhya, urged anyone in possession of documentary proof regarding the allegations to present them to the state-appointed investigators rather than resorting to public rhetoric.

The allegations, which have been consistently reported by multiple outlets, center on claims of exorbitant land prices and financial misconduct involving the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust. Sanjay Singh, addressing a press conference in Lucknow, dismissed the CM’s call for silence, asserting that he holds substantive documentation that exposes a "loot" of donations meant for the Ram temple.

The Charges and the Counter-Challenge

The AAP leader’s claims are specific. He alleged that a piece of land originally valued at ₹9 crore was purchased by the Trust for ₹55.46 crore, involving individuals named Alok, Shivani, and Manish Bansal. Furthermore, Singh pointed to acquisitions in Manjha Bareta, alleging that the Trust purchased land at rates significantly higher than government-acquired land in the vicinity. He also voiced sharp criticism over the fact that Nripendra Mishra, the head of the temple construction committee, had ostensibly issued a "clean chit" to general secretary Champat Rai before the SIT had even commenced its formal proceedings.

For his part, Chief Minister Adityanath has maintained that the SIT will ensure a transparent, objective investigation—or as he put it, "make the milk, milk, and water, water." The state government’s stance remains that the probe will address the veracity of the claims, while officials have urged parties to refrain from premature conclusions until the investigation reaches its logical end.

Why it Matters: The Bigger Picture

This confrontation underscores a widening divide between the state’s investigative machinery and the opposition’s narrative of institutional bias. By demanding a Supreme Court-monitored probe, the AAP is signaling a lack of faith in the state’s internal mechanisms, framing the issue as a betrayal of public trust. Conversely, the government’s insistence on using the SIT as the sole arbiter of the facts is a strategic move to contain the political fallout within a structured, legal framework.

The pattern here is familiar: high-stakes allegations of corruption involving religious trusts have become a potent tool for political messaging in Uttar Pradesh. Whether these allegations hold up under legal scrutiny remains to be seen, but the urgency to present "primary source" evidence suggests that this issue will remain at the forefront of the state’s political discourse. As the SIT prepares to review the documents promised by Singh, the credibility of the investigation itself has become the central, and perhaps most volatile, aspect of the entire affair.