Mounting evidence of irregularities in respect of donations to the Ram Temple in Ayodhya has shocked the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh which is keen that justice in the matter be done soon.Anxieties around the developments are running deep with the Sangh conscious of the need to ward off growing negative perceptions at the earliest. The hardest part of the story for the RSS is that financial misappropriation of the order seen in Ayodhya unfolded under the nose of Ram Temple Trust functionary Champat Rai, veteran of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad, the religious arm of RSS.No wonder as soon as the matter snowballed into a political controversy involving issues of Hindu faith and overall propriety, VHP international president Alok Kumar went public and fielded the damage.It is learnt that the RSS instructed VHP to respond to the allegations without any loss of time. Reason — Champat Rai is the serving international vice president of VHP and RSS was clear from the start that the Parishad must clear the mess created under the watch of its high functionaries.Accordingly from Sangh Parivar, it was Alok Kumar of the VHP who made the first comments in the matter on Thursday after the Uttar Pradesh government constituted SIT submitted its report to the state recommending FIR against certain individuals.Alok Kumar asserted on record that the FIR should be registered at the earliest, no guilty spared and the case fast tracked in the court. Even after the news of Champat Rai’s resignation from the Trust was confirmed by the Temple Trust on Saturday, it was Alok Kumar who came on record and said the Trust will decide on the resignation in its July 7 meeting on the matter.What’s crucial in this entire affair is — VHP’s public firefighting and RSS’ calibrated silence.One is yet to hear a senior Sangh functionary speak on the alleged theft of donations at the Temple — a matter opposition Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav is raising big as the war of narratives escalates in the run up to 2027 Uttar Pradesh elections. Sangh insiders point to the matter being entirely of the doing of the Trust and those who oversaw it. Even as they vouch for the personal integrity of Champat Rai, a veteran pracharak, they do admit that someone has to answer for the gross oversight. Loads of money have been found on the person of Champat Rai’s ex-driver.RSS’ silence on the matter may also stem from other reasons. One — the timing of the donation row could not have been worse. This is the centenary year of RSS which was established on Vijayadashmi Day in 1925 and the Sangh is marking it with the largest ever Hindu outreach in its history.Secondly, for the RSS it is ironic to face a battle of perception that stems from Ram Mandir which, in the first place, gave it the largest perceptible social acceptance among Hindus ever.Engaged mostly in the core issues of cultural nationalism, the RSS, which battled bans in the past, came closest to the masses after its involvement in the Ram Janmabhoomi movement through the 1980s till the temple was built. At the consecration ceremony, where RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat spoke before PM Narendra Modi, he said, “This is the culmination of 30 years of dedication of the RSS volunteers.” On the other hand, the BJP reaped electoral benefits of the Ram Mandir movement.This explains why the RSS has steered clear of the Ram Mandir donation row with insiders suggesting that the Sangh is a nursery for several leaders and many (read Champat Rai of the like) eventually go their own separate ways.RSS affiliate VHP is now handling the case demanding immediate justice. The urge was communicated publicly by the first official statement of Shri Ram Janma Bhoomi Tirtha Kshetra Trust on Saturday.The statement said, “we are shocked, deeply saddened and profoundly affected by the incidents that have come to light…”.While the VHP fights on the ideological level, the bigger battle around the issue will be fought in the political arena with Uttar Pradesh headed for elections.Akhilesh Yadav yesterday upped the ante against Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath saying if voted to power next year, SP will build Ayodhya into Siyaram Dham and restore people’s faith in the temple town.Yogi for his part, has acted quickly by forming the SIT as soon as the allegations surfaced. Eight arrests have been made and resignations of Champat Rai and his aide Anil Mishra, key Mandir Trust functionaries, secured. Broadly for Yogi, the controversy may well have handed him some leverage within BJP’s internal power politics.The ruling party at the Centre and the VHP will now have to rely on Yogi to manage negative perceptions of the Ram Mandir donation row by fast tracking legal and judicial remedies in this matter that impinges directly on faith.