CHANDIGARH, 15.07.26-Shakti Prakash Devshali, former councillor of Chandigarh Municipal Corporation and coordinator of the Bharatiya Janata Party’s cell, strongly reacted to Congress leader and former Union Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal’s remarks regarding donations to the Ram Temple Trust. Reading the statement, he said, brought to mind the proverb, “When the thatch speaks, even the sieve speaks…” Devshali recalled Bansal’s remark in Jaipur in which he had said that people had approached him about collecting donations for the temple but he had refused.

Devshali said that before making such statements, Pawan Kumar Bansal should look into his own conduct. Those whose party’s government raised questions about the existence of the worshipped Lord Shri Ram, who mobilized armies of lawyers to obstruct the construction of the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi temple in court, and who even submitted affidavits in court calling Lord Shri Ram imaginary — and then felt proud to openly refuse to contribute when asked to donate for the temple — have no right to criticize the Ram Temple Trust.

Devshali added that the country’s citizens have not forgotten the games played to secure postings in the Railways during Pawan Kumar Bansal’s tenure as Railway Minister, nor have the people of Chandigarh forgotten the booth frauds and irregularities in other recruitments. If he had called for these matters to be investigated under the Supreme Court’s supervision, perhaps people would have listened to him. Mocking Bansal, he said, “Those who live in glass houses should not throw stones at others’ homes.”

Reminding Bansal, Devshali noted that during Bansal’s tenure as the Congress party’s national treasurer, the Congress student wing NSUI ran ‘Ek Rupaya – Ram Ke Naam’ (One Rupee — In the Name of Ram) campaign. It would have been better if he had shed some light on the funds collected during that campaign.