U.P. Congress chief, MPs stopped from visiting Ram Temple in Ayodhya, put under house arrest

A delegation of Congress MPs from Uttar Pradesh was allegedly stopped from visiting the Ram Temple in Ayodhya on Tuesday (June 30, 2026), while the State party chief Ajay Rai claimed that he has been placed under house arrest in the temple town.

This comes in the wake of allegations that donations made at the Ram Temple have been embezzled, sparking a political firestorm. Eight people have been arrested and the U.P. police are continuing to investigate, even as Opposition parties have called for a probe monitored by the Supreme Court.

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“I am being confined alone in the guest house at Acharya Narendra Dev University. The doors are locked from outside and I am being subjected to utter mental torture. I am adamant that I will not go without seeing Lord Ram,” Mr. Rai told The Hindu. “This is a two-fold mentality — on the one hand, [Aam Aadmi Party chief]] Arvind Kejriwal is given VIP treatment and is allowed to have darshan, but on the other hand, our Congress delegation has been put under house arrest. The dictatorship of the BJP government is at its peak,” he added.

‘Cowardly action’

The Congress delegation included Mr. Rai and four Lok Sabha MPs from U.P. — Kishori Lal Sharma, Rakesh Rathore, Ujjwal Raman Singh, and Tanuj Punia — who had planned to go to Ayodhya on June 30 to worship Lord Ram. “As soon as I reached Ayodhya, the BJP government got so scared that the police arrested me from the hotel and took me away in their jeep. This cowardly attempt by those who run shops in the name of God to guard the faith is condemnable. We will neither stop nor bow down,” Mr. Rai said.

Mr. Rai claimed that the Congress leaders were willing to undergo any hardship to ensure they can go and pray to the deity about the theft of donations at the temple. “Our delegation, which includes four Lok Sabha MPs, wants to seek the blessings of Lord Shri Ram. We had earlier informed the police and local authorities about our visit led by me to offer prayers and seek darshan. We also wanted to pray to the Lord regarding the disrepute brought to this holy site by the RSS and BJP through the theft of offerings and donations. Our delegation is prepared to do whatever it takes, even if it means going to jail or giving up food and water for a few days to ensure we get to offer our prayers,” said Mr. Rai.

Political ideology vs religious rights

Mr. Sharma, the Lok Sabha MP from Amethi insisted that “darshan is the right of every devotee” and should not be blocked on political grounds. “Look at the height of dictatorship. Today in Ayodhya, we were stopped from even seeing Lord Shri Ram. We did not go to Ayodhya to influence any investigation or interfere with any administrative process. Our sole purpose was to have darshan of Lord Shri Ram,” he said.

Mr. Sharma pointed out that Sanatan Dharma traditions teach that the doors of the temple are open to all. “If millions of devotees can visit Lord Shri Ram daily, then on what basis were a public representative and his accompanying delegation prevented? Has a person’s political ideology become more important than their religious rights? The biggest question is that those who failed to take strict action on issues like corruption and alleged theft of donations are now preventing a Hindu from seeing Lord Shri Ram. What kind of justice is this? What kind of tradition is this? Sanatan culture does not allow any devotee to be denied the darshan of his deity,” he added.

Congress workers across the State protested against the police action. In Bhadohi, for instance, a protest was held outside the district magistrate’s office and a memorandum was submitted to the U.P. Governor. Protests were also held in Varanasi, Moradabad, Lucknow, and Barabanki.