‘Keep politicians away from Ramtek Temple Trust to prevent Ayodhya-like corruption’: NCP-SP leader Jayant Patil
Mumbai: Launching a scathing attack on the Maharashtra government over governance and law and order, senior Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar) legislator Jayant Patil on Friday issued a stern warning in the Legislative Assembly regarding the ‘Shri Ram Mandir Devasthan Trust Management, Ramtek Bill’.
Patil asserted that allowing politicians onto the trust would trigger corruption of such magnitude that it would “overshadow even the Ayodhya temple controversies”.
Speaking during the debate on the Bill, the NCP-SP legislator questioned the inclusion of only one member from the historic Bhonsle family, which has a long-standing traditional tie to the Ramtek temple.
He demanded that at least two members of the family be inducted into the trust instead of political figures.
“By appointing politicians to the trust, you are politicising the temple. Even Prime Minister Narendra Modi did not include any MLAs or MPs in the Ayodhya Ram Temple Trust. If you follow him, you should take a cue from this,” Patil remarked.
He pointed out several loopholes in the proposed legislation and demanded that the Bill be sent to a Joint Selection Committee for a comprehensive review before being reintroduced in the next Assembly session.
Patil demanded the removal of provisions granting daily and transport allowances to trust members.
“When God is inside the temple, why do these members need to tour outside?” he asked.
The Bill requires members to submit an affidavit affirming they are devotees of Lord Ram.
Patil called this a regressive practice, saying it could create a conflict of interest for someone who also worships Lord Hanuman, thereby violating the constitutional principles of secularism.
The Bill lacks specific provisions for opening donation boxes and counting funds.
Patil suggested that CCTV cameras be installed facing the donation boxes, cash be recorded in a register on the same day, and safeguards be introduced to prevent theft, similar to incidents reported in Ayodhya.
He demanded a strict provision preventing local MLAs and municipal presidents from utilising temple trust funds outside the designated temple area.
Meanwhile, speaking on the Opposition’s last week resolution, Patil delivered a wider indictment of the state administration, alleging that Ministers and bureaucrats were routinely absent from the House proceedings.
He highlighted several grim law-and-order incidents across Maharashtra, saying that the state’s security apparatus has completely collapsed.
Patil raised the brutal double murder of Vilas and Prashant Waghmare in March 2013.
The NCP-SP legislator said that on May 5, 2026, the prime witness, Dadaso Namdev Waghmare, was abducted and murdered while on his way to court to testify.
He demanded a Special Investigation Team (SIT) probe into the political and financial nexus protecting the accused.
A 13-year-old boy, Vedang Bandgar, was shot dead in Sangli district by a repeat criminal offender.
Patil alleged that a ruling party member had previously pressured the Jut Police Inspector not to register a case against the same criminal, which ultimately cost the child his life.
He exposed a massive scandal in Nagpur where nine police personnel were suspended.
Acting on a minor Rs 500 online gaming complaint, two police teams travelled to Mumbai and Pune without senior authorisation, stumbled upon a Rs 250-crore cricket betting racket, arrested the kingpin, and allegedly released him after taking a massive bribe.
Patil condemned a recent incident at Shastrinagar Hospital in Dombivli, where a local public representative assaulted healthcare workers, saying that doctors are no longer safe in the state.
The NCP-SP legislator expressed deep concern over the expanding narcotics network in Maharashtra, calling it a “secondary source of income for the police”.
He noted that in 2026 alone, 2,438 cases have been registered, 3,173 individuals arrested, and contraband worth Rs 239 crore seized.
He cited the massive Mephedrone (MD) bust in Neral as evidence of intelligence failure, questioning how multi-crore drug manufacturing units could operate without administration knowledge.
Turning his focus to institutional corruption and infrastructure failures, Patil said that a section of a newly constructed bridge in Nanded collapsed, narrowly missing two students.
Local authorities blamed an earthquake, a claim Patil ridiculed, noting that not even a single neighbouring hut was damaged.
“Whether it is the collapse of the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj statue, the hoarding collapse that killed 13 people, metro construction accidents, or a tree falling on a school bus — nobody is ever held guilty in this state,” the NCP-SP legislator said.
He detailed a multi-crore money laundering case involving the Ratanji Premji Public Charitable Trust, which allegedly sold land worth thousands of crores for just Rs 2 crore using a dummy company and bogus bank guarantees.
He also flagged massive Floor Space Index violations and fake documentation by private developers in Mira Bhayandar and Bhiwandi, accusing municipal corporations of shielding fraudulent builders.
Concluding his speech, Patil lamented the eroding standards of democracy and accountability.
“Corruption has become completely institutionalised. Even the fourth pillar of democracy — the media — is faltering under pressure, forcing common citizens to turn into journalists to bring out the truth,” he said.
