Temple donation ‘theft’, UGC rules row: Ahead of UP polls, BJP’s focus on prompt action, correction

AMID CONCERNS within the BJP over the political implications of the alleged theft of donations at Ayodhya’s Ram Temple, the party’s central leadership on Saturday asked its members in Uttar Pradesh to deal with the issue “carefully” and tell people about the action taken by the BJP-led state government in the matter so far, promising them prompt action against the culprits.At a meeting with BJP MPs and MLAs, party president Nitin Nabin spoke on the Ram Temple donation theft and the UGC regulations row that erupted earlier this year, said sources. Nabin said the alleged embezzlement of donations has hurt the entire Hindu society and the BJP organisation. “He called the alleged theft a ‘mistake’ done by some ‘wrong people’ and assured that the mistake will be corrected and the government will take every action to punish the guilty and bring more transparency (in counting of donations) in the future.”The sources said Nabin accused the Opposition parties of “conspiring” to politicise the temple donation theft issue and gave the example of the recent Ayodhya visit by AAP convener Arvind Kejriwal. On the UGC regulations row, following which some upper caste leaders from UP districts resigned from the BJP, Nabin said the party members should not panic or react abruptly to any such issue. “Nabin-ji said the intention behind the new UGC regulations was not wrong and whatever has happened, the government will correct that too,” said a BJP leader. Sources said BJP’s national general secretary (Organisation) B L Santhosh spoke on the Ram Temple donation row in the presence of Nabin in a closed-door meeting with newly appointed state office-bearers, morcha presidents, regional and district presidents at the BJP’s state headquarters in Lucknow. Sources said Santhosh also expressed concern over the new UGC regulations controversy. UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath was also present at the meeting. “Santhosh-ji, in his address, asked us to be careful on both Ram Temple and UGC regulations issues. He asked the party leaders to tell the people that the issue of ‘theft of donations’ was unfortunate, but the BJP-led UP government promptly constituted an SIT to probe the matter. An FIR has been lodged and arrests have been made,” said a party leader who attended the meeting. Another leader said, “About UGC regulations, Santhosh said some wrong use of words in the notification of the new regulations created a negative message. We have to tell this to the people.” The UGC equity regulations 2026, notified in January this year, were meant to address discrimination, including caste bias, in higher education institutions. The notification, however, sparked protests and calls for withdrawal among sections of students, who claimed the new regulations could create divisions over caste and lead to “harassment” of those in the general category. The Supreme Court later stayed the UGC (Promotion of Equity in Higher Education Institutions) Regulations, 2026, observing that they raise important questions which, if left unexamined, could have “very sweeping consequences” and “divide society”. With Assembly elections in various states, including Uttar Pradesh, due in less than a year, sources said the BJP central leadership is concerned about the impact of the Ram Temple donation row and the UGC regulations issue. Addressing the closed-door meeting with BJP office-bearers, Nabin said the Samajwadi Party (SP) and the Congress were “indulging in negative politics to divert the attention of the people because they do not have any issue against the BJP government”. “We don’t have to fall into the trap of the Opposition. We have to work for the growth of UP,” Nabin said. He asked the party to complete the constitution of regional and district committees by the end of this month and prepare the organisation for the 2027 elections. Later, responding to the media queries on SP president Akhilesh Yadav’s remarks on the Ram Temple donation issue, Nabin said “he was she